Four policemen were killed Tuesday night when militants ambushed a police party in Doda district in south Indian-administered Kashmir, the Press Trust of India (PTI) reported Wednesday.

"The policemen were attacked when they were returning from Beoli Koti after investigating a case around 08:00 p.m.," PTI quoted local police sources as saying.

Four policemen died on the spot and one seriously injured cop was rushed to the Doda district hospital, the report said.

The security forces cordoned off the area after the incident and launched a search operation to track down the militants, the sources said.

In another incident on Tuesday, five members of a family were killed by militants in the border district of Rajouri in the Indian-administered Kashmir.

Since 1989, about a dozen rebel groups have been battling Indian rule in the Muslim-majority region.

Around 40,000 people have been killed in the insurgency since then.

Source: Xinhua