Kuki insurgents launch deadly drone attack in India's Manipur: police

At least two people in northeastern India have been killed in an insurgent attack using drones that also left her eight-year-old daughter and several others injured, according to local officials.

"In an unprecedented attack in Koutruk, Imphal West, alleged Kuki militants have deployed numerous RPGs using high-tech drones," the police in the state of Manipur said late on Sunday night.

According to police, while bombings using drones have commonly been used in "general warfare", the recent deployment of drones to deploy "explosives against security forces and the civilians marks a significant escalation".

The state police and Home Department said two civilians, including a woman, were killed, while six others, including four civilians, were injured.

"The involvement of highly trained professionals, possibly with technical expertise and support, cannot be ruled out. Authorities are closely monitoring the situation, and the police are prepared to respond to any contingency that may arise," the Manipur Police said.

The fresh incident followed ethnic clashes in Manipur last year, which resulted in the killing of at least 180 people and affected thousands of others. Clashes have taken place between the members of the majority Meitei and the Kuki tribal communities in the state.

NDTV, New Delhi Television Ltd, reported quoting top intelligence sources as saying that said: "The attack was carried out using snipers and bombs dropped by drones. These sources thus confirmed earlier eyewitness accounts.

"The use of drones to drop bombs on a civilian area in the state hit by ethnic violence is a huge, frightening escalation, the sources said," NDTV wrote.