Tinsukia/ Dibrugarh, 17 Oct

Three Army personnel were injured when members of the banned outfit ULFA(I) fired at the security force's camp in Kakopathar area in Assam's Tinsukia district early on Friday, an official said.

The Army and the police launched a search operation in the area to arrest the militants, he said.

“Around 12.30am, unidentified terrorists fired at the Kakopathar Company location from a moving vehicle. The troops on duty retaliated immediately and effectively took caution to avoid collateral damage to civilian houses in the vicinity,” a defence spokesperson said.

He said the terrorists fled the spot after “carrying out speculative firing using automatic weapons” due to retaliation by the Army personnel.

The proscribed ULFA(I), in a statement, claimed responsibility for the attack as part of its "operation vengeance".

“No major injuries were sustained other than minor abrasions to three personnel. The area has been sanitised and joint searches in coordination with the police are being carried out,” the spokesperson added.

The area where the attack was conducted on security personnel is close to the interstate boundary between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.

Local people claimed that the attack was carried out from a truck, which is suspected to have crossed over to the neighbouring state.

The outlawed ULFA(I), in the statement, claimed that it was carried out by the ‘military wing’ of the insurgent outfit.

It said that ‘Operation Vengeance’ is its clear message to the Indian armed forces that "no amount of force using the latest technology can dissuade the outfit from pursuing its aim".