NEW DELHI – A group of insurgents claimed responsibility for Sunday’sattack in Mon district of Nagaland near the Indo-Myanmar border that leftfour Indian paramilitary soldiers of the 40th Assam Rifles dead.

The National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Khaplang) emailed reportersclaiming they were behind the ambush, in which a passing security convoywith automatic weapons and hand grenades was attacked.

The attack was part of an offensive “to sanitise the land against theillegal deployment of occupational Indian forces,” said the statement,which was signed by Isak Sumi, the group’s spokesman.

The group has been fighting for an independent homeland for the Naga tribe.It ended peace talks with the Indian government in 2015 after 14 years offutile negotiations.

On Monday, an emailed statement from Ulfa (independent), another of theregion’s myriad separatist groups, said it had worked with the Nagaterrorists to carry out the attack.

The attack occurred near the village of Aboi, about 400 km east of Assam’sGuwahati.

The jawans were collecting water when they were attacked by terrorists whowere in hiding. This is the second time that Assam Rifles jawans have beentargeted in the state in this manner.

In May 2015, eight jawans of the 23rd Assam Rifles were killed and sixothers injured in an ambush by NSCN (K) militants in Mon district ofNagaland near Changlangsu.

The NSCN (K), which is based in Myanmar, pulled out of a 15-year-oldceasefire agreement with the Centre three years back.

The northeast is home to dozens of terrorist separatist groups, rangingfrom heavily-armed ones to tiny splinter movements. These groups accuse thegovernment of exploiting the region’s rich natural resources whileneglecting local development