New Delhi – No fewer than six suspected separatist militants were killed in a clash with soldiers in India’s remote north-eastern state of Nagaland on Friday, media reports said.
The rebels belonged to a faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) that abrogated a ceasefire deal with the Indian government.
They were killed in the Tuensang District, a local broadcaster reported.
Further details were awaited.
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Security forces had stepped up operations against the faction led by rebel leader SS Khaplang after it was suspected of being behind a June attack in which 18 soldiers were killed in the region.
The NSCN has been fighting for an independent homeland for Naga tribes people who live in the north-eastern states of Nagaland, Manipur, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.
No fewer than 15,000 people have been killed during the past decade in India’s north-east, which is home to dozens of separatist, tribal and leftist groups. (dpa/NAN)