Jammu, Feb. 23 -- A top commander of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) was among three Pakistani terrorists killed in an encounter with security forces in Kishtwar district of Jammu & Kashmir on Sunday, officials aware of the details said. According to officials, the terrorists were hiding in a dhok (a mud hutment of nomadic Gujjars) on the slope of a hill in Passerkot area of Chatroo in Kishtwar. "A joint operation was launched by the Army, police and the CRPF in the Chatroo forest area of Kishtwar under Operation Trashi-I to eliminate the terrorists," a top defence official said on anonymity. The operation involved commandos of the Army's 2 Para Special Forces, jawans from the 11 Rashtriya Rifles, members of the Special Operations Group (SOG) of Jammu & Kashmir Police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), the official said. "Troops of #WhiteKnightCorps, alongwith @JmuKmrPolice and #CRPF, in a joint operation, established contact with terrorists in the general area of Passerkut, #Kishtwar. Firefight is on. Troops have cordoned off the area," Indian Army's White Knight Corps said in a post on X when the encounter broke out on Sunday. In subsequent posts, the White Knight Corps confirmed that three terrorists have been killed. "Following successful contact established earlier, troops of CIF Delta #WhiteKnightCorps, in close coordination with @JmuKmrPolice and #CRPF, re-engaged the terrorists today at approximately 11 am in challenging terrain," it said. "In continued operations under #OpTrashi-I in Kishtwar, troops of CIF (D) #WhiteKnightCorps, in coordination with @JmuKmrPolice and #CRPF, have neutralised the third terrorist. The remains and weapon of the terrorist have been recovered." A defence spokesperson said that three AK-47 assault rifles and other war-like stores were recovered from the encounter site. According to the official cited above, the bodies of the three terrorists were charred beyond recognition as the dhok they were hiding in caught fire during the gunfight. Though the army has not confirmed the identities of the slain terrorists, one of them is believed to be JeM commander Saifullah who carried a reward of Rs.10 lakh on his head, officials said. "In the past three to four months, Saifullah had been engaged in six encounters, but every time, he escaped the cordons. However, he was always on our radar," a senior police officer said, also on anonymity....