Two Assam Rifles personnel were killed and several others injured in an ambush by suspected militants in Manipur’s Ukhrul district on Monday, the police said.The incident occurred around 1.30 pm in the Nungshang Khong area of the hill district when the suspected militants fired at a convoy of the paramilitary force, a senior officer said.“The deceased include a warrant officer and a driver. They died on the spot. The incident occurred some 17 km from the district headquarters under the Ukhrul police station limits when the convoy was returning to the 40th Assam Rifles battalion headquarters at Sangshak,” the officer said.Following the attack, additional security personnel were deployed in the area and an exchange of fire broke out between the central forces and armed militants in a nearby locality, he said.The attack site had been cordoned off while a forensic team was sent from Imphal to conduct an inspection, the officer said. Locals claimed that several farmers, who were working in nearby paddy fields at the time of the firing, were detained by security forces for interrogation.In a statement, Chief Minister Y Khemchand Singh condemned the killing of the two Assam Rifles personnel and conveyed his deepest condolences to the bereaved families. He asserted that the government would not tolerate such brutal violence and would not remain a mute spectator to these atrocities.Security forces have been conducting search and area domination operations in the fringe and vulnerable localities across Manipur since the ethnic violence broke out three years ago. More than 260 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless in the ethnic strife between Meiteis and Kuki-Zo groups since May 2023.