GUWAHATI
Suspected extremists carried out an attack on Assam Rifles personnel in Changlang district of Arunachal Pradesh on Tuesday, injuring a junior commissioned officer (JCO).
Officials said the extremists, believed to be from the United Liberation Front of Asom (Independent) and the Yung Aung faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Khaplang), fired the shots from across the Myanmar Border at about 3 a.m.
The Assam Rifles troops were patrolling a wooded corridor the extremists use for hit-and-run operations on the Indian side of the Border. The site of the attack is about 1 km from the Pangsau Pass.
“The troops were undertaking enhanced patrolling activities in view of heightened vigil for the forthcoming Independence Day. A JCO sustained minor injury in the hand,” Lt Col A.S. Walia, the defence spokesperson based in Assam’s Tezpur said in a statement.
Reports suggested the extremists had used mortars in the attack.
Exchange of fire in Nagaland
An exchange of fire was also reported from the international Border in Noklak district of adjoining Nagaland.
“The Assam Rifles said their troops heard gunshots along the border at midnight. The case is being verified,” Noklak’s Superintendent of Police, Pritpal Kaur said.
The attacks were carried out about a week after the ULFA (I), NSCN (K-YA) and a few other banned organisations had jointly called for a boycott of the Independence Day. This has been a routine call from outfits that have refused to talk truce for more than two decades now.
