Naxalites struck for the second time in three days killing three inhabitants of Hadian village in Jharkhand's East Singhbhum district in the wee hours of Saturday.

The bodies could not, however, be traced, district police superintendent Ashish Batra told PTI.

Batra, who has rushed to the spot with additional forces, said police had launched a search operation in the extremist-hit area to catch the culprits.

Twelve Central Reserve Police Force jawans of the bomb disposal squad were killed in a landmine blast triggered by Naxalites near Karampada in West Singhbhum district on Thursday.