5 suspected ULFA militants killed in Assam

Five separatist guerrillas have been killed in a gun battle with security forces in Assam's Nalbari district, officials said on Sunday.

The gunfight took place late Saturday at the Mahina reserve forest in Nalbari, about 90 km west of Assam's main city of Guwahati.

"A joint team of police, paramilitary and army soldiers raided the reserve forest following specific intelligence inputs about the presence of a group of militants," said army spokesman Col R. Kalia.

The army official said there was a firefight soon after the security forces entered the area.

"The encounter lasted for close to three hours and we managed to gun down five of them," he said.

Security forces recovered four pistols, two grenades, ammunition, besides radio sets from the slain rebels.

"As of now, we can only say the five killed were definitely terrorists, although the identification process is on," Kalia said.

Senior police officials in the area, however, said the dead militants were from the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), a rebel group fighting for an independent homeland since 1979.

"The area is a known stronghold of the ULFA and from the physical appearance also they seem to be like members of the ULFA only," a police official investigating the case said requesting anonymity.