Two soldiers of the counter-insurgency force Assam Rifles were killed in an ambush by separatist rebels in India's northeastern state of Assam on Sunday.
Published : 22 Jan 2017, 03:46 PM
Assam police chief Mukesh Sahay told bdnews24.com that a combined group of Assamese, Manipuri and Naga rebels attacked a patrol of the 13th Assam Rifles battalion near Jagun in Assam's Tinsukia district around 7.30am local time.
Two soldiers were killed on the spot and five others were seriously injured when the rebels opened out on the patrol from both sides of the frontier road with self loading rifles, light machine guns and grenades.
But nearby military units were soon mobilised to track down the rebels as they withdrew from the spot of the ambush.
Later in the day, the army managed to trap some of the rebels in a pincer operation and killed two rebels.
Those killed were said to belong to a Manipuri rebel group, though it was not immediately clear which one.
Rebels from the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) led by Paresh Barua had teamed up with Naga and Manipuri rebel groups to carry out attacks against Indian military and para-military groups, who sneak in from their bases in Myanmar's Sagaing Division.
Later, this group was joined by ULFA and two other rebel groups to form a separatist coalition called UNLFSWEA in 2015.
After fighters of this coalition launched one big attack on an Indian army platoon in Manipur, the Modi government authorised a trans-border strike against rebel bases inside Myanmar.
That strike -- and some top Indian officials and ministers owning it up -- led to much tension between India and Myanmar.
In November 2016, three soldiers of Indian army's Kumaon regiment were killed in a similar attack at Pengri.
Pengri, like Jagun, is also located in Tinsukia district, where Paresh Barua hails from.