GUWAHATI, Oct 4: Five paramilitary troopers and four tribal separatists were killed in two attacks in India’s restive northeast, police said on Thursday.

Armed militants of the People’s Revolutionary Army of Kangleipak (PREPAK) ambushed a paramilitary convoy late on Wednesday in hills some 30 kilometres from the Manipur state capital, a police spokesman said.

“The convoy was on a routine patrol when they were ambushed,” the paramilitary unit’s chief S.K. Jain said.

PREPAK, which is fighting for an independent homeland for the majority Metei community, claimed responsibility.

“Our armed wing, the Red Army, planned and executed the attack,” said a rebel spokesman, local newspapers reported.

More than 19 militant groups in Manipur, which borders Myanmar, are making demands ranging from secession to greater autonomy.

In neighbouring Nagaland state, four rebels of a faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) were killed on Wednesday in an attack by a rival faction, police said.Two bystanders were also wounded.—AFP