Four civilians, among them two women and a child, were killed by terrorists belonging to the pro-Pakistan Lashkar-e-Tayiba in a remote mountainous hamlet in Udhampur district of Jammu and Kashmir last night, official sources said in Jammu today.

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A group of terrorists barged into the houses of Abdul Rehman and Mohmmad Farooq in the Chakaras-Seripheli hamlet of the district and tortured their family members for several hours, the sources said. Later, they killed four persons, identified as Samina Begum (65), Shyamina (30), Jamaldin (45) and Namzian (8).

The reason behind the killings was not known.

"The LeT was behind the killings as they have left some papers on the spot," the sources said.

The Border Security Force and the police have launched a major operation in the area to track down the terrorists responsible, they said.