Army officer, three militants killed in Nagaland

Kohima/Shillong, June 7 (IANS) An Army Major, three militants and a civilian were killed in a gunfight between security forces and terrorists early on Wednesday in Nagaland's Mon district bordering Myanmar.

Three Army Para commandos were injured in the gun battle at Lapa Lempong hilltop in Oting village. One of them was flown to a military hospital in Jorhat in Assam in critical condition.

The Army said an AK-56 assault rifle, two Chinese-made AK rifles, two grenades, three improvised explosive devices and 270 cartridges of AK-series firearms were seized from the spot.

The deceased officer was identified as Major David Manlun of the 164 Brigade of the Territorial Army. The identity of the three militants and the civilian are yet to be known.

Lapa Lempong is about 340 km east of Nagaland capital Kohima and about 25 km from the Myanmar border.

Acting on intelligence inputs, a combined team of Para commandos and Territorial Army ambushed the militants of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Khaplang (NSCN-K) and the United Liberation Front of Asom-Independent (ULFA-I) militants.

"The militants hurled a grenade and fired at the operational team that led to heavy exchange of fire and subsequent deaths," Kohima-based Army spokesman Colonel Chiranjeet Konwer told IANS.

The civilian killed was an autorickshaw driver allegedly ferrying the militants.

When Major Manlun's body was flown to Shillong, barring Army officers and family members, no Meghalaya minister or government official was present at the Gorkha Training Centre helipad to receive it.

"We are sad to hear of the tragedy. I am proud of my son. He has done his duty and given his life for our tomorrow," Manlun's father M. Khamzalam, a retired Army officer, told IANS.

The family said Major Manlun will be laid to rest at the Assam Regiment's cemetery on Thursday morning.