At least 14 policemen were killed today in an ambush by suspected militants in India's remote northeastern state of Manipur, a day after provincial elections were held there.
Personnel of the India Reserve Battalion were patrolling in a vehicle in the mountainous district of Tamenglong, about 85 km (50 miles) northwest of the state capital, Imphal, when grenades were thrown at them and they came under fire.
"Twelve people died on the spot and two others succumbed to their injuries later," a police spokesman. Seven others were wounded in the attack.
Manipur is plagued by a decades-old insurgency seeking a separate homeland for its ethnic and tribal population.
Police said the rebels hid in the jungle and opened fire with their automatic weapons.
After the ambush, they took several automatic weapons and a large amount of ammunition from the dead policemen, the officer said, adding that the wounded and the dead had been airlifted by army helicopters to a hospital in Imphal.
Security reinforcements have rushed to the area and have launched a massive manhunt for the guerrillas, he said.