File Photo: Army Chief Dalbir Singh Suhag
Army chief Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag on Friday inspected the site of Thursday's deadly ambush in Manipur's chandel district in which 18 Army soldiers were killed and 11 others injured, as security personnel intensified combing operations to track down the insurgents.
The Army chief who arrived from Delhi was briefed by the General Officer Commanding 3 corps on his arrival, after which he left for the ambush site, Assam Rifles sources said.
The general had a short discussion with the officers of the Army and Assam Rifles to work out a plan for operation and the future course of action.
Police sources said the search operations were being conducted at Paralong, Charong, Moltuh and some other areas to track down the insurgents who had launched the biggest attack on the army jawans in two decades using landmines, rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons.
Meanwhile, police PRO RK Tutusana said that the Army had lodged a complaint with the Tengnoupal police station about the ambush.
A senior Chandel police officer said that police personnel who had rushed to the spot, located deep inside the jungles, following reports of the attack, had returned on Thursday with the bodies of those killed.
The focus currently is to send back bodies of the martyred soldiers and sanitise the area completely, the sources said.
Naga insurgent outfit NSCN (Khaplang), with which the Centre abrogated ceasefire in March, has claimed responsibility for Thursday's ambush.
The militant outfit in a release dated June 4 claimed that the attack on Thursday was a joint operation by NCSN (Khaplang), Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup and Kangleipak Communist Party.