An army jawan was killed and another injured in heavy exchange of fire with insurgents of the Manipur People's Army, the armed wing of the United National Liberation Front, in interior Chandel district of Manipur, official sources said today.

The heavy exchange of fire between security forces and MPA activists, at Tingthai area in the district yesterday, lasted several hours.

A jawan was killed and another sustained serious bullet wounds in the gun-battle, sources said.

A UNLF spokesman, however, told local media that MPA insurgents had killed at least five security personnel and injured eight others but this was denied by security officials.

The UNLF also claimed MPA members had taken away a rifle from the spot, which was also denied by the security officials.

Official sources said there had been frequent exchanges of fire between security forces and MPA members since 'Operation Khengjoi' was launched on December 5 last year to flush out insurgents from hill areas.