GUWAHATI, June 3: Four policemen were killed and two seriously wounded on Sunday in an ambush by tribal separatists in India's northeastern state of Assam, officials said.

Suspected rebels belonging to the outlawed Karbi Longri National Liberation Front (KLNLF) attacked a vehicle carrying six policemen in Karbi Anglong district, 330 kilometres east of the main city of Guwahati, a senior police official said.

“The militants hiding on a hilltop fired at the vehicle with automatic weapons, killing four policemen on the spot and wounding two others,” police official A. Das told AFP by telephone.

“The militants were at an advantageous position and the policemen were caught by surprise and could not retaliate.” The KLNLF is active in the eastern Karbi Anglong district and is fighting for an independent homeland for the Karbi tribe.

The group, which has been accused of involvement in a spate of kidnappings and extortion, is among 30-odd rebel outfits active in India's northeast.

More than 50,000 people have lost their lives to insurgency in the region since 1947.—AFP