PLA claims responsibility
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| A bomb squad inspects a container on NH150 at Kawakeithel bazaar in Imphal on Saturday. Picture by UB Photos |
Imphal, Sep 10 :
Militants triggered yet another improvised explosive device under a
culvert at Kangsoibi Khongbal in Manipur’s Bishnupur district this
morning, killing an Assam Rifles jawan and wounding six men.
According to unconfirmed sources,
the victim, naik subedar Srinivas Rao, was part of the Assam Rifles foot
patrol team that was passing through the area when the bomb went off at
a spot around 5km from Imphal. The injured were evacuated to the
Leimakhong army cantonment where Rao died of his injuries.
The army’s public relations office, however, is yet to confirm the report.
The PLA in a
statement claimed responsibility for the attack, saying four personnel
had been killed and many others critically wounded.
The top brass in
the army and Assam Rifles deployed in Manipur valley, rattled by three
back-to-back bomb attacks, have asked their troops to be on “maximum
alert” while on patrolling on foot.
“As foot patrols
were targeted in all three attacks, we have asked all units to be
cautious and instructed them to look out for IEDs. We are on maximum
alert,” a senior army official said here today.
The United
National Liberation Front (UNLF) and Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) have
carried out three bomb attacks on security forces in the last five days
killing one jawan and injuring nine.
The three attacks — two of them in the capital city — were meticulously planned as only one civilian was injured.
The first explosion took place at Keishampat junction here on September 5, in which two Assam Rifles personnel were injured.
The second attack
was carried out near Tiddim ground yesterday along the Imphal-airport
road in which one army jawan and one civilian were wounded.
All three attacks
were timed in the morning when traffic was thin. Army or Assam Rifles
foot patrols were targeted as these personnel are the most vulnerable
without the safety of vehicles or heavy protective gear.
While UNLF carried out the first attack, the second and third attacks were executed by the PLA.
An army team searched the area for more bombs after the explosion today but nothing could be recovered.
Police here said
the attacks were precursors to the September 25 raising day of the PLA,
the military wing of the Revolutionary Peoples Front.
Security forces
here have also started cutting tall grass growing by the sides of
national and state highways to thwart future attacks. The police have
alerted Assam Rifles and army units deployed in the valley about places
where bombs could be planted.
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