A retired army personnel and four members of his family, including a three-year-old child and two women, were on Tuesday killed by Lashkar-e-Tayiba militants in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir.

Abdul Gani, his wife Gul Begum, son Muzaffar Hussain, daughter Azma Begum and the infant were shot dead by the militants in their house in Gursanwala village in the district, official sources said.

The militants beat the family members before killing them and later escaped, the sources said

Security forces have cordoned off the area and launched an operation to hunt the militants, they said.