Arunachal Pradesh: Ambush on Assam Rifles leaves one dead, 9 injured

An Assam Rifles jawan was killed while nine others were injured when armed militants ambushed an AR convoy near Wakka in Longding district of Arunachal Pradesh on Saturday. 

The attack took place 20 km from Indo-Myanmar border. Defence PRO Lt Colonel Chiranjeet Konwar said the militants ambushed the convoy of 16 Assam Rifles stationed in the district near Wakka at around 1.45 PM killing one jawan on the spot while injuring nine others.

He, however, could not divulge the name of the deceased nor the group involved in the ambush. "Search operation is going on in the area and efforts were being made to evacuate the injured jawans," he added.
Unconfirmed reports from Longding said the ambush was carried out jointly by NSCN (K) and ULFA (Independent) cadres.

“A column of 16 Assam Rifles battalion from Wakka was ambushed by suspected NSCN (K) cadres near Nginu village, Tirap district. Coulumn was out since yesterday and while returning came under heavy fire of auto weapons. As per initial inputs, one soldier fatal and one Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) and other eight soldiers were injured. They have been removed to hospital for treatment. Condition of four critical,” said a statement from Assam Rifles.

Meanwhile, massive search operations for the militants have been launched by the security forces.The NSCN (K) has its presence in the state of Nagaland, besides Manipur, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. Last year, the NSCN (K) had killed 18 Army personnel and injured several others in a similar ambush in Chandel district of Manipur.

With inputs from Pooja Mehta