New Delhi - At least five paramilitary troopers were killed in an ambush by separatist rebels Monday in India's north-eastern state of Manipur, a news report said. Armed rebels of the banned United National Liberation Front (UNLF) attacked a convoy of the paramilitary Assam Rifles in the Chandel district some 120 kilometres south of state capital Imphal, the IANS news agency reported.
"UNLF militants opened indiscriminate fire with automatic weapons on the convoy in which two Assam Rifles officers - a major and a captain - and three troopers were killed," a military spokesman told the agency.
The militants fired from a hilltop as the convoy passed through a mountainous terrain while the military personnel were on patrol in the area bordering Myanmar.
The UNLF is fighting for an independent homeland for the majority Metei community in the state of 2.4 million inhabitants.
There are about 20 militant groups active in Manipur. Their demands range from secession to greater autonomy.
More than 10,000 people have lost their lives to the conflict in Manipur during the past two decades.
