Six members of a village protection group were killed by suspected Muslim rebels in a border town in Indian.
A senior police official said the killings took place late on Friday near Udhampur district, 41 miles east of Jammu, the winter capital of the violence-torn Himalayan state.
Those killed were members of a village defence committee meant to protect villagers from militant attacks. No militant group has claimed responsibility for the killings so far.
Police said senior civil and security force officials had rushed to the village and search operations had been launched in the area to nab the militants.
Nearly a dozen militant groups are fighting New Delhi's rule in the country's only Muslim majority state since 1989 where authorities say over 30,000 people have been killed.
Separatists put the toll closer to 80,000.
India blames Pakistan for the violence and accuses it of training and arming separatists. Islamabad denies the charge.