A massive combing operation was underway on Friday to track down insurgents in areas of Chandel district of Manipur where 18 army jawans were killed and 11 others injured in an ambush on Thursday.
The search operation was being conducted at Paralong, Charong, Moltuh and some other areas to track down the insurgents who had launched attack on the army jawans, police sources said.
They, however, could not say whether anyone was detained or arrested in connection with Thursday’s incident, saying that the search operation was being conducted by the army and Assam Rifles personnel.
The army or Assam Rifles could not be contacted.
In the worst such attack in two decades, insurgents had ambushed a military convoy in Manipur's Chandel district killing at least 18 army personnel and injuring 11 others.
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, which used landmines, rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons in the ambush.
The area where army personnel were ambushed is about 15-20 km from India-Myanmar border.
Meanwhile, Army Chief Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag has rushed to Imphal. Suhag is being briefed by the 3 Corps commanders and top police officials, army sources said.
They said that a detailed operation plan is being worked out for sustained and targeted operations against the insurgents.
The focus currently is to send back bodies of the martyred soldiers and sanitise the area completely, the sources said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on Thursday night condemned the attack as mindless and very distressing.
Following a meeting between Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on Thursday night, the government has directed the army that no militant involved in the attack should be allowed to go scot free and strongest possible action should be taken against all those involved in the ambush.
