Indian Army yet to identify 10 'armed cadres' killed near Myanmar border

Guwahati: The Indian Army on Friday said they were yet to identify the bodies of 10 "armed cadres" killed on Wednesday in Manipur near the border with Myanmar but said that those were involved in cross-border insurgent activities.

"Preliminary assessments suggest that the neutralised individuals were known for involvement in cross-border insurgent activity. Efforts are underway to confirm their identities," said a statement issued by the army on Friday.

On Thursday, Eastern Command of the Army in a post X stated that the "armed cadres" were killed in a gunfight near New Samtal village in Manipur's Chandel district on Wednesday. The army said Assam Rifles launched the operations based on intelligence about movement of "armed cadres" along the border.

But mystery shrouded the identity of the armed persons even on Friday. Police in Manipur said the incident took place in an interior border area and they were yet to get bodies of the slain militants.

The Army statement said cache of weapons, including, seven AK-47 rifles, one RPG launcher, one M4 rifle and four single-barrel breech-loading rifles, ammunition and others were recovered following the gunfight.

Manipur shares a 398-km porous border with Myanmar, where conflict is underway between the military rulers and the "pro-democracy" forces.