A file photo of Assam Rifles.
Credit: PTI file photo
Guwahati: One personnel of the Assam Rifles was injured after suspected ULFA (Independent) militants ambushed a patrol team near Namdang forest along the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border.
Although the incident took place on Monday morning, the army issued a statement on Tuesday confirming the ambush.
The army's statement said that a vehicle-mounted patrol comprising three vehicles of the Assam Rifles was travelling from Changlang in Arunachal Pradesh towards Margherita in Tinsukia district in eastern Assam when unidentified individuals ambushed the vehicles at around 8:30 am.
"The troops retaliated and thwarted the ambush. In the process, one personnel sustained gunshot wounds. The individual has been evacuated to Military Hospital in Jorhat and his condition is stable," Defence spokesperson Lt. Cold Mahendra Rawat said.
On Tuesday morning, ULFA (I) issued a statement claiming responsibility for the attack and claimed that several personnel of the Assam Rifles were injured while vehicles were damaged. The outfit stated that the ambush was conducted in response to the recent deaths of three of its cadres.
ULFA (I) has continued to stay outside the peace process, with its cadres and leaders reportedly seeking shelter in hideouts along the Myanmar-China borders. The location where the ambush occurred is known to be used as a transit route by the outfit, according to a source.