Imphal: In a tragic incident, 18 jawans of the Indian Army were killed and 11 others injured in an ambush by militants in the Chandel district of Manipur on Thursday.


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Sources said that a team of 6 Dogra Regiment was moving out on a posing to Chandigarh when it was ambushed near Myanmar border by unidentified insurgents. 


Army and civilian authorities suspect the involvement of Manipur rebel outfit Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) and Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL), a Meitei revolutionary organisation, who used landmines, rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons.


The incident that is the worst attack on the Indian Army in past 16 years took place at around 8:30 am on the Tengnoupal-New Samtal road, about 80 kms from Imphal, and the jawans were attacked by powerful Improvised Explosive Devices (IED).


An army spokesman said that the militants fired rocket-propelled grenades at the four-vehicle convoy when it reached a place between Paraolon and Charong villages near Motul.


"18 armymen were killed and 11 injured in the attack," Army spokesman Col Rohan Anand said in Delhi. Earlier, Anand had put the number of dead at 20.


A suspected insurgent was also killed, police said.


"This seems to be the work of PLA, with suspected support by the 'KYKL' group also. We are still waiting for more inputs to come in," Manipur Home Secretary J Suresh Babu said.


However, Army believes that KYKL is behind the attack.


President Pranab Mukherjee strongly condemned the attacks and tweeted: "Strongly condemn dastardly attack on soldiers in Manipur, pay tribute to martyrs, condolences to families of brave & prayers for injured (sic)." 



Prime Minister Narendra Modi has denounced the attack and tweeted: "Today’s mindless attack in Manipur is very distressing.I bow to each and every soldier who has sacrificed his life for the Nation. (sic)"



A spokesperson of the Ministry of Defence informed that the Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has condemned the attack and assured that those who committed the cowardly act will be brought to book.


Parrikar conveyed his deepest condolence to bereaved families of the brave Army men who lost their lives and said, "Army will continue to work towards bringing peace and normalcy to the state of Manipur."


A Ministry of Defence release further added: "The Defence Minister Shri Manohar Parrikar has condemned the attack on the Army personnel in Manipur today and assured that those who have committed this cowardly act will be brought to book. He said the Army will continue to work towards bringing peace and normalcy to the State. The Minister has conveyed his deepest condolences to the bereaved families of the brave Army men who lost their lives today." 


Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Army Chief Dalbir Singh met at the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to discuss the situations arising post the attack.  


Kiren Rijiju, Minister of State for Home condoled the deaths, saying, “(It is) an extremely unfortunate incident, we’ve taken up the matter very seriously.”


“Some people want to disrupt peace process. I extend my condolences to families of martyred soldiers,” Rijiju added.


Regarding the particulars, Rijiju said, “We haven't received complete details yet. Modern weapons were used. We will have to look into the entire situation.”


The injured jawans were air-lifted by the Army for treatment even as the reinforcement party of the security forces rushed to the spot for combing operation to nab the militants.


The Indo-Myanmar border in Manipur has been closed to stop the militants fleeing to the neighbouring country.


 


It had initially been reported that the number of casualties could exceed 20, but the toll was revised later on.