18 Army men killed, 11 hurt as rebels target convoy in Manipur

Ajay Banerjee

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Tribune News Service

New Delhi, June 4

In one of the biggest strikes on the Army in the last two decades, 18 soldiers were killed and another 11 seriously injured after being ambushed by insurgents at Moltuk in Chandel district of Manipur today. The incident occurred 30 km south-east of Imphal, the state capital.

A convoy of the Army's 6 Dogra Regiment, with around 40 troops, was moving in four trucks when improvised explosive devices exploded under the vehicles. Even as the troops regrouped to attack, they were bombarded with rocket-propelled grenades. The Dogra Regiment mainly comprises personnel belonging to the lower hills of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.

The Indian security establishment has termed the attack as a "turning point" and asked the Army to launch a counter-offensive, say sources.

There have been a series of strikes in recent months by insurgent outfits, which have grouped under an umbrella organisation, 'United Liberation Front of West South East Asia' (UNLFW), with its base in neighbouring Myanmar. 

The UNLFW has, through its coordination committee spokesperson Paresh Baruah, claimed responsibility for the attack. The area where the ambush took place is dominated by Kuki tribe. 

The first-ever use of shoulder-fired rocket-propelled grenades today has left the security agencies pondering over the extent of advanced armoury available with the North-East insurgent groups. Such armoury is suspected to have been smuggled from Kunming in China through Myanmar. Sources said the attackers may have escaped to Myanmar. Since December last year, there have been a series of attacks in the sector.

Soon after the attack, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and Army Chief General Dalbir Singh Suhag met to take stock of the situation. Sources said the common thinking at the meeting was that the attack was a turning point, and that the forces must launch a counter-offensive.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was briefed later, condemned the attack as "mindless" and "very distressing". "Today's mindless attack in Manipur is very distressing. I bow to each and every soldier who sacrificed his life for the nation," he tweeted.

Parrikar said those behind the "cowardly act will be brought to book". Congress chief Sonia Gandhi expressed shock at the incident while party vice-president Rahul Gandhi expressed condolences to the families.