Even as insurgency has by and large come under control across the Northeast in the past decade or more, and the region has started an unprecedented wave of development, intelligence agencies have detected a new threat in the past few weeks. As reported prominently by this newspaper in its Saturday edition, some insurgent groups have their hideouts inside Myanmar and have been trying to launch drone strikes by specifically setting their eyes on certain vital infrastructure like refineries, military stations, dams, etc. Reports quoting official sources have said that there are “plenty” of drones which are ready to be launched from across the India-Myanmar boundary. The groups which have been identified by the intelligence agencies include the splinter ULFA group headed by Paresh Barua, a faction of the NSCN and a couple of Kuki-Zo outfits, and they are understood to have gained support not only of some unfriendly neighbours but also of some elements having links to the USA and Ukraine. The National Investigation Agency (NIA), in the meantime, has arrested seven foreign nationals in this connection and confirmed that while six of them are from Ukraine, one is a US citizen. While the Ukrainians were arrested in Lucknow and Delhi, the US national, identified as Matthew Aaron VanDyke, was picked up in Kolkata. The development is very significant because this is the first time that American and European citizens have been arrested in connection with a terror conspiracy in India. According to reports, these foreigners had arrived in India on tourist visas and travelled to Mizoram without obtaining Restricted Area Permits (RAP) as required for foreigners and then reached Myanmar. The NIA has confirmed that these persons had carried with them a huge consignment of drones, apart from supplying weapons and hardware to some armed groups in Myanmar close to the boundary where the ULFA and NSCN factions and some Kuki outfits have their hideouts. According to the news report, these insurgent outfits also have in their list of targets several Assam Rifles posts close to the India-Myanmar boundary, apart from the Indian Air Force’s bases at Dinjan and Tezpur. This situation has shown that even though many insurgent groups in the area have become much weaker over the past ten years, they still have enough strength to cause trouble by using advanced drones and attacking security forces and important infrastructure at the same time.