Srinagar, April 22 :J&K Police on Friday evening said the anti militancy operation in north Kashmir that began Thursday morning has been called off and only three bodies were recovered from the encounter site. The nearly 40-hour long anti militancy operation at Malwah village of Baramulla ended this evening in which Lashkar-e-Toiba top most militant commander, Yousuf Kantroo was killed along with his two aides. The encounter had erupted in the wee hours on Thursday the village. The other two slain militants were identified by police as Hilal Sheikh alias Hanzalla and Faisal Dar. Initially police had said that five militants were trapped in the area. “There was an intense exchange of fire this morning and after that there was a total lull. Searches were carried during the day and no fresh contact was established with terrorists,” a security official said. Earlier the day police had claimed that four militants were killed in the gun battle. “#BaramullaEncounterUpdate: Only 03 dead bodies of #terrorists recovered from the #encounter site. Identified as Yusuf Dar @ Kantru, Hilal Sheikh @ Hanzalla & Faisal Dar, all affiliated with proscribed #terror outfit LeT. Arms & ammunition recovered. Operation over,” a police tweet said. (UNI)