12 Soldiers Killed in Suspected Rebel Attack in India
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GAUHATI, India — Suspected guerrillas attacked a convoy of paramilitary forces in India’s remote northeast Saturday, killing at least 12 soldiers in a gun battle, police said.
The state government blamed the banned National Liberation Front of Tripura for the ambush of the Central Reserve Police Force in southern Tripura.
The rebels, who are fighting for a separate tribal homeland, attacked the convoy at the village of Ampi, said D. Gautam, the superintendent of police.
Also Saturday, Islamic militant groups based in Pakistan claimed responsibility for ambushing two police vehicles and killing 17 policemen in Indian-controlled Kashmir.
At least five rebels were killed Friday night in a territorial battle with a rival separatist group, the All Trapper Tiger Force, in Sidhai, a village in western Tripura, Gautam said.
More than a dozen guerrilla groups are fighting wars in India’s seven northeastern states. They complain of alienation, neglect and threats to indigenous cultures.
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