More troops were rushed to the area and a massive search operation is under way.
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Meanwhile, Centre on Sunday asked the security agencies to take strictest possible action against the culprits involved in an ambush in Manipur’s Chandel district in which a JCO and five Jawans of Assam Rifles died.
A defence ministry release said that “a convoy of Assam Rifles while returning after assessing a landslide area in Holingjang to the Battalion Headquarters location at Joupi in Chandel District of South Manipur had the encounter with a suspected Valley based insurgent group”.
This is the second attack on Indian forces in Manipur – a A Border Security Force (BSF) convoy on foot patrol was ambushed by militants armed with rocket launchers and sophisticated automatic weapons in Thoubal district.
“Spoke to DG Assam Rifles who apprised me of the situation in Manipur. My condolences to families of the deceased”, he said while expressing his condolence to the bereaved families.
While intelligence sources said six personnel including a junior commissioned officer were killed, Assam Rifles and police, while confirming the incident, declined to disclose the exact casualty figures.
Singh reviewed the situation with union home secretary Rajiv Mehrishi and other top officials in the security establishment following the militant attack, official sources said.
The militants also snatched four AK Rifles, one INSAS rifle, one LMG rifle from them.
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In June past year, the rebels used rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons to ambush an Indian military convoy, killing 18 soldiers.
