Six suspected members of National Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN-IM) were killed while an Assam Rifles jawan was injured in a gunbattle in Longding district in Arunachal Pradesh on Saturday morning.
Security officials said a joint team of Assam Rifles and Arunachal Pradesh police launched an operation based on intelligence inputs near Nginu village, close to Myanmar border and six rebels died in the encounter that took place at around 4.30am.
"There were not less than 250 rounds of firing from both sides. But we managed to kill six who were hiding in a paddy field. Six long range weapons such as AK 47 and two Chinese MQ 81 rifles, ammunition and IEDs have been recovered from them," security officials told DH.
Sources said the Assam Rifles jawan, who received bullet injuries in the gunfight was shifted to a military hospital. His condition is stable, it said.
NSCN (IM) is a rebel group based in Nagaland and is in ceasefire with the government since 1997. They signed a "broad framework agreement" with the government in 2015 and concluded negotiations in October last year for signing a final agreement soon.
Killing of the rebels amid the talks process, although surprised security analysts, army officials suspected that the rebels could belong to Myanmar-based group of the outfit, which is not part of the negotiations.
But NSCN (IM) rebels has a strong hold in Tirap, Changlang and Longding districts in neighbouring Arunachal Pradesh. Their activities has become a worry for security forces in the state that shares border with Myanmar, China and Bhutan.
The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act is still in operation in the districts in view of the rebel group's activities.
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