Kohima:
Seven militants of the armed rebel group NSCN-K, including a woman, were killed by the Army in an encounter in Nagaland's Tuensang district today.
Security forces, including the Assam Rifles, the Army, and 21 Para Special Forces, engaged the group in a gunfight at Pangasha in the Tuensang district.
The group of militants who were travelling in two vehicles opened fire on the security personnel as they were flagged down for checking. In the retaliation, seven militants were killed and three other supporters travelling with them were injured, a Defence Ministry statement said.
"One soldier of security forces was also injured in the firing from NSCN-K cadres," it added.
Security forces had intensified their operation against the outfit, which abrogated the ceasefire agreement with the central government in March and attacked an Army convoy in Manipur in June, killing 18 soldiers and injuring 11 others.
Four days later, India's Special Forces went across the border and destroyed two militant camps in Myanmar, killing as many as 50 rebels.
According to security forces, these militants killed today are believed to be part of the same groups who might have carried the June 4 attack.
NSCN-K army advisor Niki Sumi, whom the National Investigation Agency named as the main conspirator behind the attack is believed to be in the area but escaped this crackdown, they said.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a peace accord with the NSCN-IM faction, in hope to end the state's longstanding insurgency.