GUWAHATI: Suspected militants ambushed an army vehicle on Sunday and killed two paramilitary troopers in India’s restive northeastern state of Assam, police said.

The rebels lobbed grenades at the troopers before detonating a small bomb in Tinsukia district, police said.

“Two Assam Rifles soldiers have been killed by rebels,” said additional dire­ctor general of police Muk­esh Agarwala, adding that a gunbattle broke out when security forces retaliated.

He said police and troops have launched a search of the region, some 500 kilometres from Assam’s main city of Guwahati.

Local media reports said the troopers were escorting tourists back from a festival in the neighbouring state of Arunachal Pradesh when their vehicles came under attack.

Police said it was not immediately clear whether anyone sustained injuries.

Northeast India, linked to the rest of the country by a narrow land corridor, has seen decades of unrest am­­ong ethnic and separatist groups.

The region is home to dozens of tribal groups and small guerrilla armies that resist rule from New Delhi.

Many are fighting for independent homelands for their tribes and often compete against each other.

More than 10,000 people, mostly civilians, have lost their lives to insurgency in Assam during the past two decades.

In November heavily armed militants ambushed an army convoy in Assam, killing three soldiers and injuring four.

Published in Dawn January 23rd, 2017