Militants ambush Assam Rifles

Close on the heels of the gruesome attack on Army troopers in Manipur’s Chandel districts where 18 Army jawans lost their lives, suspected NSCN (K) militants on Sunday fired at an Assam Rifles (AR) camp in remote Lazu area in Tirap district of Arunachal Pradesh.

Although no casualty has been reported, these back -to- back attacks have pressed the alarm buttons across North-East India.

According to sources, a group of 40 NSCN (K) militants reportedly attacked the camp in the Indo-Myanmar border region at around 2:30 am. The Assam Rifles, which guards the Indo-Myanmar border retaliated, heavy fire were exchanged, though no casualty has been reported.

A massive combing operation was on at the time of filing this report.

Arunchal Pradesh’s Tirap district has a porous border with Myanmar and is under AFSPA due to heavy presence of different militant groups. The Assam Rifles was on high alert since there were prior intelligence inputs of movement of NSCN-K militants, sources added. On April 2, three Army jawans were killed in an ambush by NSCN (K) in Tirap district in Arunachal Pradesh. Ever since then, security forces have been on high alert in Tirap district.

Assam Rifles was earlier targeted on May 3, when eight Assam Rifles personnel were killed; ten injured when suspected militants of NSCN (K) triggered a powerful blast and ambushed a convoy of the paramilitary force in Mon district of Nagaland bordering Myanmar.

Both Mon and Tirap are also traditional transit route to Myanmar for the North-East militants groups.

On the other hand, The National investigation Agency (NIA), which has been entrusted the responsibility of investigating the Manipur attack, has started its investigation in Chandel. NIA Director Sharad Kumar is supposed to be directly overseeing the investigation, MHA sources added.

Meanwhile, sources have added that MHA has sent advisory to Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunchal Pradesh to be on high alert as the joint front of North-East rebels might try to strike again.