The Eastern Command of the Army also maintained that its troops suffered no casualties during the action.
According to a statement by the Eastern Command, a column of the Indian Army operating along the Indo-Myanmar border was fired upon by unidentified rebels of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Khaplang (NSCN-K) around 4.45 am.
"Own troops reacted swiftly and brought down heavily retaliatory fire on insurgents. The insurgents then broke contact and fled from the spot. As per inputs, a large number of casualties were suffered by the insurgents. Own troops suffered no casualties," the statement added.
The Army also asserted that Indian troops "did not cross the international border".
Responding to a question at a cabinet briefing abut the incident, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said, "There are no two opinions that Myanmar is a friendly country. Whatever information we get, we will inform you about it."
However, a Facebook post by one Isak Sumi, who is on the 'Most Wanted List' of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), said the encounter occurred on the outskirt of Langkhu village located inside Myanmar occupied Naga area, 10-15 km away from Indo-Myanmar border.
He claimed that "three Indian soldiers were killed and an unconfirmed number injured but there was no casualty or injury on the Naga Army".
Army sources have maintained that it was "not a surgical strike". Its response came hours after Sumi's post.
The Eastern Command also tweeted, "Reports of casualties to #IndianArmy personnel factually incorrect. Firefight occurred along Indo-Myanmar border at 0445 hrs today @adgpi."
In June 2015, the Army had conducted a similar operation against banned insurgent groups following the killing of 20 soldiers in Manipur.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
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