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