The 16-hour long encounter in Jammu is over. All three militants have been killed by security forces.

The militants got in by cutting the fence at the international border on Monday and then surfaced on Wednesday morning on the outskirts of Jammu.

They had first opened fire and killed four people and then got into an auto and headed into a residential area where they broke into the house and took seven people hostage, four among them were children, the youngest one was only two years old.

Firing went on for hours before the guns felt silent, but the militant didn't let the hostages go. The Army even got maulvis to appeal to the militanst to let the hostages go but that too didn't work.

At daybreak, the militants had entered the house when the owner, Billo Ram, was away.

One of the militants was shot dead but two others took the women and children of the family hostage.

On Monday night, the militants cut open the border fence in Akhnoor, about 20 km from Jammu, and headed for the city.

On Wednesday morning, they surfaced on the outskirts of Jammu, at Mishriwala, and opened fire. Three civilians and a jawan were killed. The terrorists then got into an auto-rickshaw and headed towards the densely populated Bantalab area. Finally, they broke into Billo Ram's house.

"We were able to move to a safer place. We don't know what is happening inside," said a neighbour.

Soon, the Army and police arrived and a gunbattle started. Firing went on for hours before the guns fell silent and the Army finally declared a hostage situation.

"The Army is taking services of maulvis and appealing to the militants to release the hostages," said Major General D L Choudhary, GoC, Tiger Division.