Armed insurgent groups attacked a convoy of Assam Rifles troops using Improvised Explosive Device (IED) in Saibol area of Tengnoupal district today morning. Source claimed the attack to have been carried out by well-trained cadres of the armed opposition group the PLA (Army Wing of Revolutionary Peoples’ Front).
The troop of Assam Rifles was conducting a regular patrol at the site when the attack occurred. No personnel of the AR were injured in the attack, even as the armed insurgents followed a burst of firing after the blast.
A report by Hindustan Times quotes a senior defence official, “ Our soldiers fired back at the militants after which they fled from the spot. Search operation is on. Our troops were not injured because they were moving in a mine-protected vehicle”.
It added that at around 9.30 am on Thursday, 20 Assam Rifles soldiers were moving from the company’s operating base in Saibol as part of regular patrolling.
“The militants had planted a low-intensity IED. They then used small firearms and fired at the Assam Rifles vehicles. Our soldiers retaliated with appropriate force and foiled the attack. Search operation has been launched to trace the attackers,” the official added.
Earlier this month, at least 200 Assam Rifles personnel were airlifted to Moreh town in ethnic strife-torn Manipur as the security forces launched an offensive to flush out militants, especially infiltrators from Myanmar suspected to be involved in recent attacks that killed one senior police officer.
“The additional personnel were air-lifted, some were also sent to Moreh by road as part of the counter-terror measures. They are involved in identifying militants who are hiding in the town or may have crossed into India from the Indo-Myanmar border,” a senior officer aware of the matter had said, requesting anonymity. “Assam Rifles is working with other agencies in the counter-terror operations.”
Assam Rifles troopers attacked by suspected PLA cadres at Tengnoupal district
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