IED blast in Nagaland's Chumoukedima kills Assam Rifles havildar, injures four; search intensifies

Guwahati: Security forces on Tuesday intensified search operations in Nagaland's Chumoukedima district, deploying additional Assam Rifles and Nagaland Police personnel, a day after an improvised explosive device (IED) blast killed an Assam Rifles havildar and injured four others, officials said.

A defence spokesman said the four injured personnel are in a stable condition and undergoing treatment at a hospital.

The slain havildar, Mohammad Iqbal of the 28 Assam Rifles Battalion, hailed from Jammu and Kashmir.


Officials in Kohima said the IED exploded on Monday afternoon after an Assam Rifles convoy struck it near Sukhovi in Chumoukedima district.

No militant group has owned the attack.

Iqbal was attached to the Assam Rifles Training Centre and School at Sukhovi. A civilian also suffered a leg injury after being hit by flying debris from the blast, while a nearby autorickshaw was extensively damaged, a senior Nagaland Police official said.

Nagaland governor Nand Kishore Yadav, chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, deputy chief minister Yanthungo Patton and Assam Rifles director general Lt Gen Vikas Lakhera condemned the attack and vowed to bring those responsible to justice.

Militant group NSCN-IM, which has been in ceasefire mode since 1997, also condemned the blast, describing it as a "cowardly terrorist act" aimed at disrupting peace in the region.

In a statement, the group said the use of improvised explosive devices and anti-personnel mines could not be justified, warning that such attacks endanger civilians, spread fear and undermine peace in the region.

Distancing itself from the attack, NSCN-IM said it would seek to establish the facts behind the explosion and identify those responsible. It urged the public not to speculate about the incident and appealed for cooperation to ensure those behind the blast are held accountable.

Meanwhile, police in Manipur said security forces have launched an intelligence-based operation in the TM Kasom, Litan and Sikibung areas to apprehend those responsible for the July 6 ambush on security personnel in Ukhrul district.

"An intelligence-based operation has been launched by Security Forces in the areas of TM Kasom, Litan and Sikibung to arrest the perpetrators of the ambush on security forces in Ukhrul district on 06 July 2026. Three persons have been detained. Farming activities are continuing unhindered, shops remain open and regulated traffic on NH-202 is moving as planned," police said in a post on X.

On July 6, two Assam Rifles personnel were killed when suspected Naga militants ambushed an Assam Rifles vehicle at Nungshang Kong on the Imphal-Dimapur National Highway (NH-2) in Manipur's Ukhrul district.