Imphal: For the first time, Kuki militants used armed drones to launch an attack in ManipurOn Sunday, police said the gun and bomb attack by suspected militants killed two people and wounded nine others. Of the nine injured, five suffered bullet wounds while the others suffered shrapnel injuries caused by bomb blasts, hospital officials said.
A woman was killed and her 12-year-old daughter was among nine people injured, including two policemen, in a shootout by “suspected Kuki militants,” the state police and the home ministry said in separate statements. The home ministry said a man was also killed in the attack, taking the death toll to two.
According to police, militants fired indiscriminately from hilltop positions towards the lower areas of Koutruk valley and neighbouring Kadangband. Several houses were also damaged due to the intense shelling by the militants, they added.
The drone attack
Intelligence sources said the attack was carried out using snipers and bombs dropped from drones, a leading British daily reported, confirming eyewitness accounts on Monday morning. The use of drones to drop bombs on a civilian area in a state already plagued by ethnic violence marks a significant and alarming escalation, the sources added.
The sudden assault on the unsuspecting village triggered widespread panic, forcing many residents, including women, children and the elderly, to flee to safer areas, police added.
Drones were previously suspected of being used as spotters, while crude artillery “pump guns” fired shells that landed right near where the drones were flying, giving the impression that the drones were dropping the bombs, the sources said.
Deployment of role-playing games
The attack, which took place on Sunday, involved the use of sophisticated weaponry, including multiple RPGs (rocket-propelled grenades) launched from advanced drones.
However, the confirmation by senior sources in the security system of the use of drones to drop bombs has raised, for the first time, the threat to security forces and civilians in the area to unprecedented levels.
One of the policemen was hit in the leg by shrapnel from a drone-dropped bomb, and at least two armed drones were seen, police sources said. The shooting began from Nakhujang village in Kangpokpi towards Kadangband in Imphal West at 2:35 p.m., the sources said. Residents of Kadangband said at least one drone dropped a “bomb” on a house in the area and shared purported footage of the attack that showed people running away.
Manipur Police statement
He Manipur Police said in a post on X: “In an unprecedented attack in Koutruk, Imphal West, suspected Kuki militants have deployed numerous high-tech drone rocket launchers. While drone-launched bombs have been commonly used in general warfare, this recent deployment of drones to plant explosives against security forces and civilians marks a significant escalation.”
“The involvement of highly trained professionals, possibly with technical expertise and support, cannot be ruled out. Authorities are closely monitoring the situation and the police are prepared to respond to any contingency that may arise,” they added.
The woman, Ngangbam Surbala, 31, was brought dead to the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in the state capital Imphal, 45 kilometres from Kangpokpi. Her injured daughter is in hospital.
Kangpokpi is a Kuki dominated area while Imphal West is located in the Meitei dominated valley. The Kuki tribes and the Meitei community have been fighting since May 2023 over a number of issues.
The body of the deceased woman, identified as Ngangbam Surbala Devi, 31, has been shifted to the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) for post-mortem. Police said the identity of the other victim is yet to be ascertained.
Security forces, including state and central units, have been deployed in the area to stabilise the situation.
Statement by the Ministry of the Interior
The state government has strongly condemned the attack on unarmed residents of Koutruk. “The state government has come to know of the unfortunate incident of attack on unarmed residents of Koutruk using drones, bombs and sophisticated weapons reportedly by Kuki militants resulting in the death of two persons including a woman. The state government views this act of terrorising the unarmed residents of the locality as very serious when it is making all possible efforts to restore normalcy and peace in the state,” a statement from the Home Department said.
He added that such acts of creating havoc among unarmed villagers are seen as an attempt to derail the efforts made by the state government to establish peace in the state.
“The state government has already taken immediate steps to control the situation and punish those involved in the attack on Koutruk village, Imphal West,” the statement added.
Meanwhile, the DGP has ordered all SPs to remain on high alert in all peripheral areas.
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