Security Forces Intensify Search Operations After Fatal IED Blast in Nagaland

Guwahati: Security forces have intensified operations in Sukhovi under Nagaland's Chumoukedima district  after today’s deadly IED blast, with additional columns of the Assam Rifles and the Nagaland Police deployed to strengthen search operations and area domination efforts.

An Assam Rifles pick-up vehicle was travelling from Sukhovi to Dimapur when a remotely detonated IED exploded near a parked auto-rickshaw, causing extensive damage to the vehicle. The auto-rickshaw was reportedly unoccupied at the time of the blast.

The explosion severely impacted the right side of the vehicle, critically injuring the driver and four other Assam Rifles personnel. The driver, Havildar Mohammad Iqbal, later succumbed to his injuries, while the four injured personnel are undergoing treatment at the Christian Institute of Health Sciences and Research (CIHSR) in Chumoukedima.

A wreath-laying ceremony for the martyred Havildar Mohammad Iqbal is scheduled to be held at the Assam Rifles Training Centre and School in Sukhovi. The ceremony will be attended by the General Officer Commanding (GOC), Spear Corps, and Assam Rifles Director General Lt Gen Vikas Lakhera, who is also visiting Dimapur to review the security situation and meet the injured personnel.

The identity of those behind the remotely detonated IED attack remains unknown. Although several insurgent groups in Nagaland are currently under ceasefire agreements with the Government of India, no organisation has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Condemning the incident, Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio described the blast as a "cowardly act" that has no place in society. He assured that those responsible would be identified and brought to justice, adding that the state government would not allow such acts to undermine peace and security in Nagaland.

The Nagaland unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) also strongly condemned the attack and expressed its condolences to the family of the martyred Assam Rifles personnel, while wishing a speedy recovery to those injured in the blast.

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