THE British High Commission has played down fears for four Western hostages after the deaths of six Indian tourists in the troubled state of Jammu and Kashmir.

They say the incident is unrelated to the abduction of the Western hostages, including Paul Wells, of Blackburn.

Police said 12 tourists had been seized by gunmen on Monday evening and the bodies of six, riddled with bullets, were discovered near the Dal Lake. The other six were released.

A spokesman for the Foreign Office said it was not the first incident of violence in that part of the world since the hostages were taken.

And a spokesman for the British High Commission in New Delhi added: "It is an isolated incident. We are investigating it."

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