Rajnath Singh mourns killing of jawans in Manipur, says MHA monitoring situation

New Delhi:Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday expressed grief over killing of six jawans including an officer of the Assam Rifles in an encounter with terrorists in Manipur`s Chandel district.

"Extremely pained to learn of the killing of Assam Rifles` JCO and jawans in Manipur. My condolences to the families of the deceased soldiers," Singh wrote on Twitter.

"Spoke to DG Assam Rifles who apprised me of the situation in Manipur. MHA is closely monitoring and reviewing the situation in the state," he added.

A Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) and five jawans of the 29 Assam Rifles were killed in an ambush reportedly by CorCom (Coordination Committee) militants at Hangshi, around 15 km from its battalion headquarters at Joupi village, in Chandel district of Manipur.The ambush took place between Hengshi and Tuiyang villages around 12.30 p.m. when the JCO and other jawans were returning after inspecting a landslide scene in the locality.

Four AK rifles, one INSAS Rifle and one LMG rifle have been taken away by the militants.CorCom, which is responsible for many bombings, is an umbrella group in Manipur comprising the Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP), Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL), People`s Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK), Progressive faction (PREPAK-Pro), Revolutionary People`s Front (RPF - the political wing of the People`s Liberation Army - PLA), United National Liberation Front (UNLF) and United Peoples Party of Kangleipak (UPPK).