Militants attacked a cash van and shot dead five policemen and two bank employees in Jammu and Kashmir's Kulgam district on Monday, police said.

The incident took place in Pombai village when an unspecified number of militants targeted the cash van of the Jammu and Kashmir Bank.

"Militants fired at the van occupants," a police officer said. The attackers escaped with the rifles of the slain policemen.

Senior police and paramilitary officers rushed to the spot. Security forces launched a hunt for the killers.

The cash van had deposited cash in the Neehama village branch of the bank and was returning to Kulgam town when it came under attack.