ULFA mastermind behind Guwahati blasts killed

Guwahati, Oct 7 (UNI) ULFA leader Mrinal Rabha, the mastermind behind several blasts in Guwahati, was killed along with an unidentified accomplice in an encounter with the Army last night, Army sources said here today.

The militants were hiding in a house in Sonakhat village under Tangla police station in Udalguri district the sources said.

Security personnel of the Red Horns Division acting on a tip-off, cordoned off the village and challenged the terrorist to surrender.

The ULFA militants, however, opened fire and tried to escape under the cover of darkness but were killed in the retaliatory firing, the sources added.

The slain ULFA leader, a 'sergeant major' of the '709 battalion' of the outfit, was an IED expert and had masterminded a number of blasts in Guwahati.

The identity of the other slain militant is yet to be ascertained. A pistol, a revolver, a large quantity of war-like stores and a latest satellite phone was recovered from them.

UNI