Ten people have been killed, including three children, in a massacre in Papua New Guinea's remote highlands.

Key points: Police are searching for the gunmen, who fled into the jungle

Police are searching for the gunmen, who fled into the jungle Three children aged between five and six were among those killed

Three children aged between five and six were among those killed The killings are believed to be linked to another massacre last year

Police told the ABC a criminal gang was behind the attack at a village near Porgera in the country's Enga province, and that the assailants had been searching for a rival.

They said nine people were killed and a woman was fighting for her life. A community leader who requested not to be named for safety reasons told the ABC the woman has since died.

Police are currently trying to find the gunmen who fled the scene after police arrived.

"Because it's a guerrilla type of warfare, they retreated back into the jungle, so they're up in the mountains," Chief Inspector Luvi Florian said.

"We're currently working around the clock with the information that we have to try and apprehend the gunmen."

Chief Inspector Florian said the three children killed in the attack were between the ages of five and six.

The community leader said the gunmen ambushed the victims on their traditional hunting grounds.

Chief Inspector Florian said it was believed the killings were linked to another massacre last year, where more than a dozen women and children were killed.

The Karida village massacre in July 2019 was covered widely in international media. ( Facebook: Pills Kolo, file )

There are also concerns three Seventh-day Adventist missionaries may have been killed in the same area earlier this month, and police are keeping an eye on the potential for retaliation attacks.

"We stand ready to suppress any further violence," Chief Inspector Florian said.