Nay Pyi Taw, Aug 4 (IANS): Six villagers have been killed by terrorists with two persons missing near Kaigyi village in Myanmar's northern Rakhine state, the State Counsellor's Office said on Friday.

The bodies of the Mro Arakan ethnic group members were discovered by security forces when patrolling the Mayu mountain range in Maungtaw on Thursday, Xinhua news agency reported.

They were murdered with machetes and gunshots, a statement said, adding the forces were in pursuit of the killers.

The security forces had during the weekend found hidden tents of armed men in Mayu mountain range in Buthidaung-Maungtaw area during a search operation in the region.

Last week, 31 terror suspects were rounded up by the forces in Maungtaw township for holding a secret meeting in Kyauk Hlaykha village to plot terrorist acts.

A spate of violence continues in Buthidaung and Maungtaw from last October with 44 civilians killed and 27 kidnapped.