The Indian Army on Friday said that the 10 suspected militants killed in Wednesday’s encounter with an Assam Rifles team in Manipur’s Chandel district were involved in “cross-border” insurgency, but their identities were yet to be confirmed.

“Preliminary assessments suggest that the neutralised individuals were known for involvement in cross-border insurgent activity. Efforts are underway to confirm their identities,” the defence spokesperson (Manipur, Nagaland and southern Arunachal Pradesh) said.

The army statement on the “significant operational development” near New Samtal village in Chandel district along the Indo-Myanmar Border, in which a “patrol of the Assam Rifles was fired upon heavily by suspected cadres” on Wednesday resulted “in the neutralisation of 10 individuals in camouflage fatigues”.

Although the army is yet to ascertain the identity of the individuals killed, reports emanating from the state’s security establishment suggest the deceased were from Myanmar because New Samtal village under Khengjoy, one of the three subdivisions in Chandel district, borders the neighbouring country and the encounter took place in a Kuki-Zo majority area even though Chandel is a Naga majority district.

Manipur shares a 398km-long porous border withMyanmar.

The army statement also said a “thorough combing operation” of the area led to the recovery of a “significant cache of weapons, including seven AK-47 rifles, one RPG launcher, one M4 rifle and four single-barrel breech-loading (SBBL) rifles, ammunition and other war-like stores...”.

The situation along the international borderremains under heightened surveillance.

“Security forces are maintaining a robust posture and are in coordination with civil administration and intelligence agencies to ensure peace and stability in the region,” the statement said.

The gunfight comes amid intensified operations by security forces against militant outfits and miscreants for the restoration of peace in the state, which remains on the edge because of the ongoing conflict between the Meiteis and the Kuki-Zos that erupted on May 3, 2023.

Manipur is currently under the President’s rule, and the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958, has been extended for six months from April 1, barring 13 police station areas in Imphal Valley.