Itanagar: Two militants of the national socialist council of Nagaland-Khaplang or NSCN-K (Yung Aung faction) were gunned down in an encounter with Indian security forces near Arunachal Pradesh’s Longding district on Thursday morning.
Acting on intelligence inputs about the movement of armed insurgents, a patrol unit of the Indian armylaunched a an operation around 10 am, when it came under heavy fire in a forested stretch near Langkhu village, inside Myanmar territory adjacent to Pongchau Circle.
According to a statement from the defence ministry, the patrol spotted suspected armed individuals and challenged them, prompting indiscriminate gunfire using heavy-calibre weapons from the militants. Security forces responded swiftly, forcing the armed group to retreat across the international border into Myanmar under cover of the thick jungle.
A thorough search was conducted, but the militants had already fled the area, the ministry statement said.
The NSCN (YA), which issued a statement confirming the deaths of two of its cadres, Nyaklung and Neyung Aung.
The security forces suspect the group was attempting either a “cross-border infiltration or a regrouping manoeuvre.”
The militants reportedly retreated after the firefight, using the forested terrain as cover. A search operation was conducted in the area, but no additional casualties or recoveries have been reported.
Source: Hindustan Times