Guwahati: In a major escalation, the banned militant outfit ULFA (Independent) carried out a dreaded attack on an Indian Army camp in Kakopathar, Tinsukia district, shortly after midnight on Wednesday.
According to reports, a group of suspected ULFA (I) militants arrived in a truck and launched multiple Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) shells — estimated to be three or four — at the camp, followed by indiscriminate gunfire. The assault lasted for nearly 30 minutes before the attackers escaped under the cover of darkness towards Arunachal Pradesh.
Preliminary information suggests that three to four Army personnel, including jawans, sustained serious injuries in the attack. However, no official confirmation has yet been issued by either the Indian Army or the Assam Police.
Following the incident, a massive search operation was launched under the leadership of Tinsukia Superintendent of Police Abhijit Dilip. Security forces later recovered the abandoned truck used by the militants at Tengapani in Arunachal Pradesh, indicating that the assailants had crossed the state border after the assault.
This marks the first major retaliation by ULFA (I) since the July 13 drone strike on the outfit’s camps in Myanmar, in which several senior ULFA leaders — including Nayan Medhi, Brigadier Ganesh Asom, and “Colonel” Pradip Asom — were reportedly killed.
Later police recovered the truck used by militants registered as AS 25 EC 2359, was found abandoned at Tengapani Ghat, situated along the Noa-Dihing River near Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border.
The banned militant outfit, ULFA (Independent), has taken responsibility for the recent late-night assault on an Indian Army camp in Kakopathar, Tinsukia district, an attack that left three army personnel injured. In a statement released shortly after the incident, the group claimed the operation and named it “Operation Vengeance.”
