Acting on a tip-off, a joint operation by the police and the Army's 11 Maratha Regiment launched the operation in village under Gossaigaon police station last night.

The arms and ammunitions from the house of three adivasi persons who have been taken into custody. The three -- Amrit Hembrom, Tirtha Tudu and Chorken Murmu -- were stated to Adivasi Cobra militants with suspected Maoists. Besides the 15-kg IED, the seized arms and explosives include 28 gelatine sticks, three 9 mm pistols, an AK-47 rifle, two 7.62 pistols, a carbine, six magazines, 120 rounds of ammunition and two kgs of gunpowder, the sources said.

In another joint operation in Tinsukia district, huge quantities of arms and ammunitions were also seized on Monday. The two consecutive recoveries assumes significance as there are intelligence reports of militants striking in the run up to the first anniversary of the October 30 serial blasts in Assam which claimed 92 lives and left more than 300 injured.