Militants Kill Three Cops In Meghalaya (Lead)

Security forces in Meghalaya launched combing operations Saturday to nab the suspected Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA) rebels who gunned down three police personnel in a pre-dawn attack, police said.

A group of ten heavily armed suspected GNLA rebels hiding on a hilltop attacked a highway patrol police team at Thapa Darenchi area of East Garo Hills district, killing three policemen and injuring two.

Though no militant group has claimed responsibility for the incident, state's Additional Director General of Police (law and order) Rajiv Mehta said: "The GNLA is behind this cowardly attack."

"They (GNLA) have been under tremendous pressure from us. Today may be their day, but they should remember that we are not far from them," he said.

Mehta, who reviewed the overall law and order situation in Garo Hills after the incident, added: "We have got vital leads and the hunt is on to arrest them."

The GNLA, one of the five Garo rebel groups, is fighting for a sovereign Garoland. It is headed by police officer-turned-outlaw Champion R. Sangma.

The outfit is believed to have links with the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah), the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) and the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB).