LOC21:06
18:06 GMT
NEW DELHI, March 17 (KUNA) -- A top insurgent of outlawed rebel group
United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) was Monday killed in an encounter with
the Army in India's Northeastern state of Assam.
Kanak Chetia, an explosive expert of ULFA's "28th batallion", was killed in
an encounter at Dirakbokhai village in Assam's Tinsukia district, news agency
Press Trust of India reported quoting, a state government official.
A Chinese pistol along with huge amount of explosives were recovered from
the slain insurgent, the news agency said.
The ULFA is waging an insurgency since 1979 to create a "sovereign Assam "
carved out of India . Most of its top leadership is reported to be based in
neighbouring Bangladesh and operating from there. The group has been alleged
of maintaining links with Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence.
Leading US think tank Stratfor last year in a report -- India: ULFA
Abandons Peace Talks -- had said that ULFA was keen to work with groups like
Bangladesh-based Harkt ul Jihadi Islami (HuJI) in India's Northeast and has
begun to outsource terror operations. The HuJI leadership has recently
confessed to Bangladeshi authorities of supplying grenades to Lashkar-e-Toiba
group for terror attacks in India over the past few years. (end)
dr.bs
KUNA 172106 Mar 08NNNN