Kohima, July 14 (IANS) A day after an Assam Rifles Havildar was killed and four other personnel were injured in a powerful Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast in Nagaland’s Chumoukedima district, security forces on Tuesday intensified search operations by deploying additional columns of the Assam Rifles and the Nagaland Police, officials said.

A defence spokesman said the condition of the four injured Assam Rifles personnel is stable and they are undergoing treatment at a hospital.

The slain Havildar, Mohammad Iqbal of the 28 Assam Rifles Battalion, hailed from Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district. Following a wreath-laying ceremony to honour the fallen soldier on Tuesday afternoon, his mortal remains are likely to be flown to his home state.

Director General (DG) of Assam Rifles Lt Gen Vikas Lakhera, along with senior Army and Assam Rifles officers, is expected to attend the wreath-laying ceremony at the Assam Rifles Training Centre at Sukhovi in Chumoukedima district.

A senior Nagaland Police official said that no militant outfit or any other group has claimed responsibility for the attack so far.

Officials in Kohima said the IED exploded on Monday afternoon after striking a vehicle that was part of an Assam Rifles convoy near Sukhovi in Chumoukedima district, killing Havildar Iqbal and injuring four other Assam Rifles personnel.

Havildar Mohammad Iqbal was attached to the Assam Rifles Training Centre and School at Sukhovi. The powerful explosion, which occurred near the Assam Rifles Training Centre, also injured a civilian after he was hit on the leg by flying debris from the blast, the police official said.

An auto-rickshaw parked nearby was extensively damaged in the explosion.

Meanwhile, Nagaland Governor Nand Kishore Yadav, Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, Deputy Chief Minister Yanthungo Patton and Assam Rifles Director General Lt Gen Vikas Lakhera strongly condemned the attack and vowed to bring the perpetrators to justice.

The IED blast in Nagaland came just eight days after two Assam Rifles personnel were killed when suspected Naga armed militants ambushed an Assam Rifles vehicle at Nungshang Kong along the Imphal-Dimapur National Highway (NH-2) in neighbouring Manipur’s violence-hit Ukhrul district on July 6. The two slain personnel were Warrant Officer Balwant Singh and Havildar Chandra Mohan Singh.

The deadly ambush had triggered widespread condemnation from various quarters, while massive joint operations by the Central and Manipur security forces are still underway to track down those responsible for the attack.

The dominant Naga insurgent group, the National Socialist Council of Nagalim-Isak-Muivah (NSCN-IM), has denied any involvement in the Manipur ambush, asserting that it remains committed to the ceasefire agreement signed with the Central government and to the ongoing Indo-Naga peace process.

In a statement issued after the July 6 attack, the NSCN-IM categorically stated that it was neither involved in nor had prior knowledge of the incident. The organisation reiterated that it remains firmly committed to the Ceasefire Agreement with the Government of India and continues to honour its responsibilities under the agreed ground rules. It further asserted that it would never resort to any action that could undermine, derail or sabotage the ongoing Indo-Naga political negotiations, the statement added.

–IANS

sc/dpb