GUWAHATI, May 23: At least six Dima Hasao National Liberation Army (DNLA) militants were killed in the Dhansiri area of Karbi Anglong district during an early morning encounter with a joint force of Assam Police and Assam Rifles on Sunday.
According to reports, the exchange of gunfire between security forces and the militants took place in the wee hours, in the area close to the Assam-Nagaland border.
A huge cache of arms and ammunition, including two AK series rifles, one 3.3 rifle, four pistols and live rounds of ammunition, among others were recovered from their possession.
“In a joint operation, Assam Police and Assam Rifles neutralised 6 DNLA militants in the Dhansiri area of Karbi Anglong during the early morning hours today. A huge cache of arms and ammunition has been recovered,” Assam special director-general of police, G.P Singh posted on Twitter.
Sources said that the operations against DNLA were intensified after some suspected cadres of the militant outfit killed a priest on May 19.
Formed about two years back with an aim to create a sovereign nation for Dimasa people, the DNLA has been primarily active in the central Assam hill districts of Dima Hasao and Karbi Anglong, apart from parts of neighbouring Nagaland.
Meanwhile, asked by reporters about the incident here on Sunday afternoon, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said, “In a way, the entire DNLA outfit has been neutralised by the Assam Police. We have information that apart from seven militant outfit leaders who were killed in the encounter, two other leaders were critically injured.”
