Army destroys 34 rebel camps

Troops destroyed 34 rebel camps in the northeastern state of Manipur, which borders Myanmar, as part of a four-week operation to flush out separatists from the mountainous region, the Army said on Monday.

The Army also seized a training ground and firing range during the weekend crackdown in landlocked Manipur, one of seven states in the remote Northeast that has been torn by separatist and tribal insurgencies for decades.

"There was no resistance as the militants fled when troops advanced. There were 34 huts and we found automatic rifles, grenades, radio sets and 40 kg of plastic explosives," Army spokesman Major Santanu Dev Goswami said.

The Army has already destroyed some 100 camps since about 6,000 troops launched an offensive this month with the help of neighbouring Myanmar, which has sealed its border.

India says many rebel groups have bases on the other side of porous borders with Bangladesh, Bhutan and the former Burma.

Myanmar promised to cooperate in the battle against insurgents when the country's military ruler, Senior General Than Shwe, visited New Delhi last month.