Several Naga insurgents were believed to have been killed when the Indian Army returned fire on the Indian side of the Myanmar border on Wednesday morning. The Army said rebels of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Khaplang or NSCN (K), who started fire at Mon district in eastern Nagaland at 4.45 am, suffered "a large number of casualties".
The Army said it did not suffer any casualties in the operation. It clarified that the international boundary was not crossed at any point of time, and it was not a "surgical strike".
There was no clarity on the number of those killed from NSCN (K) that has been demanding an independent state or Greater Nagalim, unifying Naga population in India's northeast and Myanmar.
A statement by the Army's Eastern Command said that a column of the Indian Army was fired upon by unidentified NSCN (K) rebels. The Army said that its troops reacted swiftly to the attack and retaliated with heavy fire.
"The insurgents then broke contact and fled from the spot. As per inputs, a large number of casualties were suffered by the insurgents. Own troops suffered no casualties," the statement said.
A Facebook post by NSCN (K), however, said that three Indian soldiers were killed as the Army approached one of their camps on the outskirts of Langkhu village located in a Myanmar-occupied Naga area, 10-15 km away from the border.
The post by Isak Sumi of NSCN (K), who claims to be in Myanmar's Yangon, is on the 'most wanted list' of the National Investigation Agency.
The Eastern Command, however, tweeted, "Reports of casualties to #IndianArmy personnel factually incorrect. Firefight occurred along Indo-Myanmar border at 0445 hrs today @adgpi."
Reportedly, the top leadership of the group is in Myanmar, and it also has hideouts across the border.
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