The deceased included three men, three women, five boys and four girls, belonging to three families. A similar incident, in which 19 persons were massacred, had taken place about a year ago in the same area.

Though no militant outfit has claimed responsibility for the massacre, officials attributed it to the intra-gang rivalry between Hizbul Mujahideen leaders, Kauser Mehmood and Khaleel Khan. The latter had recently replaced Kauser as district commander of Hizbul Mujahideen in the area.

According to sources, nearly 30 to 40 militants swooped down on Morah Bachai village, about 6 km north-west of Surankote town, around 9.45 pm and surrounded a two-storeyed house. They broke open the doors as noone responded to their knocks.

Immediately thereafter, they entered the room of Motia Begum and shot her dead along with her husband, Liyakat, two daughters and two sons, the youngest among them being two-year-old Rashid. The others have been identified as Rukhsana Kousar (20), Firdous (18) and Waisad (5).

The other family members, who had woken up by then, were hiding in other rooms. The militants searched the house and killed Hazi Mohammad Azam (50) and his sons, Nissar Ahmad (25), Mushtaq Ahmad (28) and Yaseen (12). Mushtaq's wife, Hamida, along with her sisters-in-law, Hameeda and Shaheen Akhtar, were also gunned down by the militants.