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The
patrol was hit by suspected separatist militants belonging to
the National Liberation Front of Tripura
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GUWAHATI,
India, August 20 (News Agencies) - At least 20 Indian paramilitary
soldiers were killed and four critically wounded Tuesday, August 20,
when tribal militants ambushed a patrol in the northeastern state of
Tripura, a police spokesman said.
The
soldiers from the Tripura State Rifles were ambushed at Amarendra
Nagar, 60 kilometres ( 37 miles) southeast of the state’s provincial
capital Agartala, at about 9.00 am (0330 GMT), Agence France-Presse
(AFP) reported.
The
patrol was hit by suspected separatist militants belonging to the
National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT), the police spokesman
said.
“The
patrol vehicle was on its way to Agartala carrying some sick soldiers
when a big group of NLFT militants triggered grenade blasts and opened
fire with automatic weapons, killing 19 on the spot,” the spokesman
told AFP by telephone from Agartala.
One
of the wounded soldiers later died in hospital, he said.
“Four
soldiers were shifted to hospitals with multiple injuries and their
condition is stated to be very serious,” he said.
The
militants were hiding on a hilltop and were in good position to carry
out the attack, the official said.
After
the ambush, the rebels fled the area, taking with them a large
quantity of It is the biggest attack on security forces in Tripura
since the outbreak of insurgency two decades ago, the official added.
More
than 10,000 people have lost their lives to insurgency in the state.
The
NLFT is fighting for an independent tribal homeland in Tripura, using
bases in adjoining Bangladesh to carry out their hit-and-run guerrilla
strikes on federal soldiers.
Army,
police and paramilitary soldiers have launched a massive hunt in the
area to catch the rebels.
“It
would be very difficult to track down the rebels and the chances of
them escaping to their hideouts in Bangladesh seem probable, with the
border just a few kilometers (miles) away from the site of the
attack,” a senior police official said, requesting anonymity.
Tripura
Chief Minister Manik Sarkar said the militants were taking advantage
of the 856-kilometer (531-mile) unfenced border the state shares with
Bangladesh.
“We
have been asking the federal government to urgently put up barbed wire
fencings on the border to check militancy in Tripura,” Sarkar said.
