At least 3 civilians were killed while 10 others injured after two terrorists opened fire in Rajouri's Dangri area, police said on Sunday. The incident took place in the upper Dangri village in three houses that were separated by around 50 metres from each other.

Additional Director General of Police, Jammu Zone, Mukesh Singh said police, along with the Army and the CRPF, have launched a massive search operation to nab the two 'armed men' behind the attack at Upper Dangri village, about eight kilometres from Rajouri town.

Quoting eyewitnesses, the officials said two suspected terrorists appeared in the village around 7 pm and opened indiscriminate firing on three houses and fled. “The firing ended within 10 minutes. First, they attacked a house in the Upper Dangri and then they moved 25 meters away and shot several persons there.

They also fired on another house 25 meters away from the second house while fleeing the village,” an official said. However, officials said one more injured civilian succumbed to injuries, taking the death toll to three.

The deceased have been identified as Satish Kumar (45), Deepak Kumar (23) and Pritam Lal (57), the official said, adding the critically injured are being airlifted to Jammu for specialised treatment. The injured have been identified Shishu Pal (32), Pawan Kumar (38), Rohit Pandit (27), Saroj Bala (35), Ridham Sharma (17) and Pawan Kumar (32), he said.

Deeraj Kumar, sarpanch of Dangri, said gunshots were heard around 7 pm and after some time their intensity increased. Later, I received calls that there was firing by terrorists, he added.

Kumar said it was after a long time that targeted killings were carried out in the area. He termed the incident as a major security lapse. There was already a threat perception and searches too were conducted in some areas of the district, he added.