Security forces have destroyed 23 illegal bunkers in Manipur's Ukhrul and seized 18 improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in Tengnoupal in separate operations, police said on Saturday.
The bunkers were razed on Thursday in the hill villages of Mongkot Chepu, Shongphel, Mullam, Sirarakhong and Ringue under the Litan police station limits, as part of ongoing efforts to dismantle militant infrastructure in the region.
A 12-bore pump action gun, 17 cartridges of different calibres and 111 empty cases of fired bullets were also seized.
At least seven people have been shot dead in different firing incidents and more than 30 houses have been torched since violence broke out between Tangkhul Naga and Kuki communities in Ukhrul district in February this year.
Meanwhile, in a separate operation on Wednesday, security forces seized a cache of arms and explosives in T Bongmol village in Moreh police station area in Tengnoupal district.
Two single-barrel rifles, four 9mm pistols with magazines and 18 IEDs were seized. The explosives were destroyed on the spot, it added.
(With inputs from PTI)
