Assam Rifles trooper killed in Manipur attack

An Assam Rifles trooper was killed and two others were seriously injured on Friday when militants exploded a remote-controlled bomb at a checkpost in Ukhrul district in Manipur bordering Myanmar, police said.

Rifleman Biju Sorubuwar was killed on the spot in the explosion at 7.20 a.m.

The troopers were at the Ramba Assam Rifles checkpost when the deafening blast took place. No insurgent group has claimed responsibility.

Additional forces were rushed to hunt for the attackers. But police said the militants might have escaped to their camps into Myanmar.

The dead trooper was from Lakhimpur district in Assam, the police said. The injured men were identified as Havildar Yaspal Singh of Udhampur in Jammu and Kashmir and Rifleman Nihar Ranjan Das of Gopiya village in Odisha.

They reportedly sustained life threatening injuries and were airlifted to a military hospital at Leimakhong near here.

Security measures have been tightened in the area and all vehicles and passengers were being checked by security forces.

--IANS

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