Four NSCN(IM) cadres were killed in two separate operations carried out by the Assam Rifles and Assam Police in Dima Hasao district in Assam in the past two days, leading to recovery of three AK-47 rifles and a cache of ammunition. In yet another operation, one senior cadre of the NDFB(S) was killed in Kokrajhar district today. Giving details, Defence PRO Lt Col Suneet Newton said while one NSCN(IM) cadre was killed near village Kopili in Dima Hasao district on the tri-junction of Assam, Nagaland and Manipur on Monday night, two others were killed near village Robi Basti on the outskirts of Haflong on Tuesday night. These cadres were mostly involved in extortion from local villagers as well as businessmen in the district, he added. In Kokrajhar in western Assam on the other hand army troops of the Kokrajhar-based Red Horns Division in a joint operation with the Assam Police killed Philip Wary, self-styled second-in-command of the NDFB(S)’s Gossaigaon area inside the Ripu reserved forest on Wednesday. The Songbijit faction of NDFB had of late stepped up extortion and abductions in Kokrajhar and Chirang districts, particularly along the Bhutan border.
