Powerful bomb recovered in Imphal

Imphal: Barely 24 hours after the series of bomb blasts in which three persons including a civilian were killed, a powerful bomb was on Saturday recovered near a major shop at Shingjamei market complex near here in Imphal West district of Manipur, official sources said.

Sources said the bomb, allegedly planted by insurgents on the side of a crowded road in front of a pharmacy apparently targeted to security personnel, was removed and later defused by bomb experts after being reported to nearby Shingjamei police station at around 9.25 am. No individual or group has claimed responsibility for planting the bomb, sources said adding that it was the second bomb-related incident in the past 24 hours in Manipur. A civilian and two Assam Rifles jawans were killed in a series of bomb blasts near Manipur-Myanmar border at Kwatha Khunou in state`s Chandel district in the earlier incident. Four persons - two jawans and two civilians--sustained injuries as more than seven bombs planted on the side of road had gone off. The area was frequented by Assam Rifles personnel deployed at nearby Kwatha village. An Assam Rifles spokesman late last night said of the four injured jawans, two died on the way to the hospital. The United National Liberation Front (UNLF) today claimed responsibility for the series of blasts at Kwatha Lamkhai area near Manipur-Myanmar border yesterday. A UNLF spokesman told media persons over phone that it was done by insurgents of the Manipur People`s Army (MPA), armed wing of the UNLF. All MPA insurgents who took part in the attack on security men have returned safely to their camp, he said. PTI