6 Assam Rifles personnel killed in militant ambush in Manipur

IMPHAL: At least six Assam Rifles personnel, including a junior commissioned officer (JCO), were killed in an ambush on Sunday by heavily-armed rebels in Manipur ’s remote Joupi area, around 190km from here.Belonging to the paramilitary force’s 29 battalion, the jawans, who were escorting their commandant, were attacked at around 1 pm near Hangshing village in Chandel district, officials said. They were returning after inspecting landslides when their convoy came under heavy fire from a hilltop.An encounter ensued that lasted for nearly an hour, they said, adding that six personnel were killed on the spot. The attackers decamped with the weapons – one INSAS rifle, four AK series rifles and a light machine gun – from the slain jawans, whose identities are yet to be known, a source said, adding that some jawans were injured in the ambush. The bodies are being brought to Imphal for post mortem, police said. Joupi is close to Paraolon, where ultras had killed 18 soldiers of the 6 Dogra Regiment in an ambush on June 4 last year.A massive combing operation is being carried out in the area but there were no immediate arrests. The 4 Assam Regiment had replaced the 6 Dogra regiment.Although no group has claimed responsibility, the CorCom, a coordinating committee of some major underground groups of Manipur, is suspected to be behind the attack.