Rifles-Dogra Regiment attackers linked, Army feels

KOLKATA: Outfits involved in the ambush on Assam Regiment personnel on Sunday are closely linked to those that attacked a 6 Dogra Regiment convoy in Manipur on June 4, 2015, the Army suspects. Six Assam Rifles personnel, including a Subedar, were killed on Sunday at Hengshi village in the Chakpikarong tehsil of Chandel district in Manipur after militants set off an improvised explosive device (IED) and brought down heavy fire to bear on a convoy.
The attack on the Dogra Regiment in June, 2015 was carried out at Moltuk village in the Khenjoy tehsil of Chandel.Both villages are close to the Indo-Myanmar border and are only about 30 km apart. The modus operandi of beginning the ambush with an IED blast and the severity of automatic fire has prompted the Army to suspect the hand of CorCom (Coordination Committee) that comprises outfits like the KCP, KYKL, PREPAK and UNLF in Sunday's attack. The 2015 ambush was allegedly carried out by KYKL, KCP and NSCN-K cadres.
Not only do all these underground groups have well entrenched bases in Myanmar, ConCor has also extended support to the United National Liberation Front of Western South East Asia (UNLFWESEA). This is the name of the umbrella organisation formed by NSCN-K, ULFA-I, NDFB-S and KLO.
"After June 4, 2015, there has been no major strike on security forces in any of the northeastern states, including Manipur. A reason behind this is sustained operations by the Army's Special Forces and other elite units. India has also received a lot of support from countries like Bangladesh and Bhutan in curbing activities of the insurgent groups. Myanmar is different in many ways. There are huge tracts on the Myanmar side of the border over which the government of that country doesn't have much control. In many places, the insurgent groups are in control of illegal gold mines and other activities. The Underground groups are getting desperate by the day and are attempting to hold on to their stronghold in the Chandel district. This is a primary transit point between India and Myanmar for all the outfits. Even now, combing operations are carrying on to nab those involved in Sunday's attack and prevent them from crossing the International Border into Myanmar," a senior officer in the Army's Eastern Command said.
According to another source, the Army is not considering another surgical strike like Op Waghnaksh-I inside Myanmar. On June 9, 2015, Special Forces launched this operation on two militant camps within Myanmar and claimed to have killed nearly 20 insurgents. Though the Centre was upbeat about the mission initially, doubts started to arise later on about whether any of the slain militants were actually involved in the June 4 attack on the Dogra Regiment. Instead of carrying out any such strike, security forces plan to concentrate in the Chandel district that has witnessed the maximum number of casualties in the last 16-odd years. According to data partially compiled by the South Asia Terrorism Portal, Chandel accounted for nearly 311 fatalities between 2000 and 2016. Of these 54 were civilians, 67 security forces personnel and the remaining militants.