New Delhi -Five paramilitary troopers and four separatist rebels were killed and at least a dozen injured in two separate attacks in India's restive north-eastern states of Manipur and Nagaland, it was reported Thursday. Armed militants of the People's Revolutionary Army of Kangleipak (PREPAK) ambushed a convoy of the paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) late Wednesday in the hilly Senapati district, 30 kilometres near state capital Imphal.
"The rebels, hiding on a hilltop, fired indiscriminately on the convoy killing four troopers on the spot and wounding 11 others," top CRPF official SK Jain told the IANS news agency.
One of the injured troopers succumbed to the gunshot injuries at a hospital later.
"Our boys could not retaliate as they were caught unawares with the hilly terrain and the militants located on an advantageous position firing from a hillock," Jain said.
The PREPAK, a rebel group fighting for an independent homeland for the majority Metei community claimed responsibility for the attack.
The militant outfit did not give any reasons for the attack, but police said the rebel group was trying to make its presence felt ahead of its foundation day anniversary on October 9.
The PREPAK had attacked personnel from another paramilitary group, Assam Rifles on Sunday, killing one soldier and injuring another.
There are more than 19 militant groups active in Manipur, bordering Myanmar, with demands ranging from secession to greater autonomy.
Meanwhile, in the neighbouring Nagaland state, four rebels belonging to a faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) were killed Wednesday by a rival group in state capital Kohima, the IANS reported.
"There was heavy firing resulting in the death of four NSCN cadres. Two civilians were wounded in the attack," an unnamed police official was quoted by the IANS as saying.
The NSCN factions are engaged in a bitter fight over territorial supremacy in Nagaland with violent clashes between both the groups claiming many lives in the past few years.
The NSCN has been fighting Indian forces for an independent homeland for the Nagas.
India's north-east is a restive region where nearly 40 separatist, tribal or leftist groups are active in five states. More than 15,000 people have lost their lives to insurgency in the region in the past decade.
