Rebels kill 4 soldiers in northeast India

GAUHATI, India — Separatist rebels ambushed a paramilitary vehicle Saturday, killing four soldiers and wounding four others in India's insurgency-wracked northeastern state of Manipur, police said.

Heavily armed rebels hiding in dense jungle alongside a road fired at the truck from both sides killing the soldiers instantly, Karanjit Singh, an inspector general of Manipur Police, told the Associated Press.

The wounded troops were hospitalized in the state capital, Imphal, he said.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack which took place near Oksu village, 25 kilometers (15 miles) east of Imphal, early Saturday, he said.

At least 17 separatist rebels groups are active in Manipur, which shares a border with Myanmar. The rebels frequently engage in hit-and-run battles with government soldiers.

The militants say New Delhi exploits the northeast's rich natural resources while paying scant attention to the welfare of the indigenous people.

Manipur has been in turmoil for several weeks after a young man was killed in Imphal by government forces in what human rights activists say was a "fake encounter," where police kill a suspect and claim the victim died during a shootout.

Since 1984, a stringent anti-terror law has allowed soldiers in Manipur to make random arrests, search people without a warrant, or even shoot a person suspected of being a terrorist.