NSCN(K-YA) blames Indian forces for drone strike on camps in Myanmar

Dibrugarh: A massive drone strike targeted the camps of the NSCN (K-YA) insurgent outfit in Myanmar bordering Arunachal Pradesh on Monday evening.

At least five militants, including three bodyguards of top commander Peyong Konyak, were killed, sources confirmed.

Intelligence sources said the strike specifically targeted the camp of self-styled Major General Peyong Konyak, a senior NSCN (K-YA) leader believed to be the mastermind behind the October 16 attack on an Assam Rifles Company Operating Base (COB) in Arunachal’s Changlang district.

The NSCN (K-YA) has accused Indian security forces of carrying out the drone strike.

Security sources confirmed the operation was a retaliatory strike, launched in response to recent attacks on security forces by the NSCN (K-YA) and ULFA (I) militants.

On October 16, suspected NSCN (K-YA) militants had attacked the Assam Rifles COB at Hedman, along the Indo-Myanmar border in Changlang district. The pre-dawn assault marked a significant escalation in insurgent activities in the region.

Just days earlier, ULFA (I) militants launched an attack on an Army COB at Koomsang under Kakopathar Police Station in Tinsukia district of eastern Assam.

Three Army personnel were injured in the ambush, in which the militants reportedly used under-barrel grenade launchers (UBGLs) and automatic rifles.

The NSCN (K-YA) faction has increasingly emerged as a major insurgent force in eastern Arunachal Pradesh. Authorities believe the group is involved in multiple extortion and abduction cases across the Tirap, Longding, and Changlang (TLC) region.

“This was a well-coordinated strike carried out by Indian security forces in retaliation for the recent militant attacks,” a security source told reporters.

Officials have not released an official statement on the operation, but sources indicate that more targeted actions may follow as part of a broader crackdown on insurgent camps operating from across the Myanmar border.