Militants fire at cops in Manipur, 4 injured

There was high alert in Manipur's border town Moreh on Sunday after militants attacked Manipur police commandos inside their barracks on Saturday night, during which rocket propelled grenades (RPG) were fired, officials aware of the matter said. 

- Prawesh Lama

Even as curfew was imposed in Moreh, militants and security forces on Sunday evening were engaged in a gunfight in the jungle area bordering the T Yangnom village of Moreh which led to many villagers fleeing from their homes. Till late Sunday evening, the two sides were engaged in a gunfight.

The attack on the commandos at around midnight on Saturday was reported from Moreh, hours after another unit of the Manipur commandos travelling on the ImphalMoreh highway was attacked during the day. One commando sustained splinter injuries when the convoy came under heavy fire around 3.45pm on Saturday.

"The situation was under control after Saturday afternoon's incident. But around midnight, militants fired RPGs and heavy gunfire to attack the commandos sleeping inside the barrack at around midnight. Four of them sustained minor injuries. One of them may have sustained damage to his ear because of the blast of the explosives," an official aware of the matter said.

The militants who were hiding in the hills, official said, used cover of the night and engaged in firing at the barracks for almost half an hour. The four commandos were rushed to the nearby hospital of the Assam Rifles.

Following the incident, top officials of the Assam Rifles have flown to Moreh, a border town near the India-Myanmar border.