India may seek Myanmar’s help to track down the militants responsible for the ambush in Manipur on Thursday that killed 18 soldiers of the 6 Dogra Regiment, official sources said. The attack took place around 20 km from the border, and the army has been given clear instructions to “work with Myanmar” security forces at the local level but “not to enter their territory”, they added. The border will be blocked in consultation with local Myanmar security agencies, the sources said, given that the militants are believed to have come from the neighbouring nation. [related-post] Preliminary inputs suggest the attack was well planned with preparations taking weeks if not months, Defence Ministry officials said. “It is not two-three days’ work. The group is likely to have carried out a recce of the area for at least two-three weeks. A drill may have been carried out. It may have been rehearsed. The possibility exists that a small group of militants visited the spot multiple times before actually laying the IED,” an official said. While a new front under Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland — NSCN (K) — has claimed responsibility, officials said the area is dominated by Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL), United National Liberation Front (UNLF) and Peoples’ Liberation Army (PLA). All of them have camps across the border, they added. “Cooperation with Myanmar security forces is critical to ensure that the militants are flushed out. We are likely to approach Myanmar to seek a long-term solution,” a government official said. India and Myanmar signed a MoU on border cooperation in May 2014, but a more practical solution facilitating joint operations by local military units from both the sides is likely to be initiated now, sources said. The area comes under the operational responsibility of Inspector General of Assam Rifles (IGAR) South, which is equivalent to an Army division. It further reports to Dimapur based 3 Corps and further to Eastern Command in the operational chain. Officials said the responsibility of the failures that led to the ambush “would be fixed”. Sources said early reports point towards a probable lapse by the Road Opening Party (ROP) that was tasked to clear the road every morning for vehicular traffic. Sources said the ROP carried out its duties on June 4 as per the standard operating procedures but initial signs indicate a possible lapse in operations.
