3 soldiers killed, 4 hurt in Assam militant ambush

Guwahati: Three Army soldiers were killed and at least four others critically wounded in an ambush by a heavily armed joint group of Ulfa(I) and NSCN(K) near Digboi in Upper Assam’s Tinsukia district early Saturday. The Army soldiers belonged to 15 Kumaon regiment.

The incident took place when an Army convoy was moving towards Pengri, their base headquarters in Tinsukia, at around 5.30 am.

The militants first triggered an IED blast, and then opened fire on a Maruti Gypsy and a truck in which the soldiers were travelling.

Tinsukia SP Mugdhajyoti Dev Mahanta told reporters, “It was certainly the handiwork of the anti-talk faction of Ulfa with the support of NSCN(K) rebels. The initial assessment suggests the involvement of at least 15 armed rebels in ambush inside the Upper Dehing reserve forest.”

Army PRO, Lt. Col Suneet Newton, told this newspaper that the soldiers were on counter-insurgency operations. “The militants had planted an IED on the road which blew up the 2.5 ton truck. Soon after the IED blast, the militants also opened indiscriminate fire on Army soldiers,” he said, adding that the Army has launched a massive combing operation in the area to nab the ultras involved in the attack.

There was “heavy shelling” on the two Army vehicles as they were moving from Pengeri towards Digboi.

“There was heavy shelling from inside the jungle. They also used an IED, apart from firing with rocket propelled grenades (RPG) and at least one grenade,” police said. Security sources said that taking advantage of thick forest cover, militants managed to escape soon after the ambush.

The injured Army solders, who suffered multiple injuries, were airlifted to a nearby Army base hospital.

Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal, who described the incident as “an act of cowardice”, directed additional director general of police Mukesh Shah to rush to Tinsukia to coordinate the combing operations. Mr Sonowal said that militants responsible for the attack will not be spared.

This is the first major offensive of Ulfa(I) rebels in the state since the BJP government came to power in May this year.

Earlier this week, on Wednesday, a group of Ulfa(I) rebels had fired on a van that was on its way to a bank to collect cash for disbursement of wages to labourers of the Pengeri tea estate.