IMPHAL: Two Assam Rifles personnel were killed in an ambush by suspected militants on NH-202 in Manipur’s Ukhrul district, predominantly inhabited by Tangkhul Naga, on Monday afternoon.Security forces rushed to the site of attack, and there was an exchange of fire. Further operations are under way to neutralise the militants, police said in the statement.Sources said two AR personnel, identified as Warrant Officer Balwant Singh and constable CM Singh, who was reportedly driving the vehicle at the time of the attack, were critically injured in the ambush. Both later succumbed to their injuries.The incident took place around 2pm when personnel of 40 Assam Rifles were travelling to their battalion headquarters at Shangshak from Ukhrul headquarters.Breakaway group behind ambush, says NSCN(IM)Monday’s attack on Assam Rifles personnel, about 17 km from Ukhrul district headquarters, marks the second major strike on Assam Rifles personnel since the outbreak of the Manipur ethnic conflict in May 2023, following the Sept 2025 assault in Nambol in Bishnupur district that killed two and injured five other personnel.According to local villagers, heavy gunfire and multiple explosions rocked the area for nearly two hours, sending panic through nearby villages. The circumstances surrounding the ambush and the identity of the attackers were not immediately known.No militant group has claimed responsibility, and the Assam Rifles has yet to issue an official statement on the incident. However, the NSCN(IM), which has its stronghold in Ukhrul district, said the ambush is suspected to have been carried out by a “breakaway Eastern Flank faction”.
