IMPHAL– Two Assam Rifles personnel were killed and five others wounded on Friday evening when unidentified gunmen ambushed a paramilitary vehicle in Manipur’s Bishnupur district, officials confirmed.
The attack occurred in the Nambol Sabal Leikai area, where troops of the 33 Assam Rifles were moving from their Patsoi Company Operating Base to the Nambol base. A defense spokesperson said the convoy came under sudden fire from unidentified assailants along the highway.
“In the ensuing action, two personnel of Assam Rifles were martyred and five others were injured. They have been evacuated to the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences in Imphal and are currently stable,” the spokesperson said.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. Security forces launched a massive search operation shortly after, with Assam Rifles units and Manipur Police combing the area under tight cordon to track down the attackers.
Local police reported that heavily armed assailants opened fire directly on the vehicle, killing two soldiers on the spot. The injured were hit by bullets during the ambush. Senior security officials rushed to the scene to oversee the response.
Meanwhile, in separate operations over the past 24 hours, security forces arrested six militants linked to various banned groups in Imphal Valley districts.
Three members of the Kangleipak Communist Party (PWG) were detained in Imphal West and identified as Leishangthem Tondon Singh, 34, Leishangthem Anand Singh, 34, and Heikham Hemchandra Singh, 41. Authorities seized rifles, magazines, and nearly 100 cartridges from their possession. Another KCP (PWG) cadre, Taorem Tomchou Meitei alias Pena, 45, was arrested in Imphal East.
In Thoubal district, police captured an active member of the People’s Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK) and another from the Socialist Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (SOREPA), identified as Khoinaijam Bhumeshwor Singh, 24. A dummy gun and ammunition were seized during the arrests.
Security has been tightened across the region as operations continue to track down those responsible for Friday’s deadly ambush. (Source: IANS)
