IMPHAL, April 19 -- An ex-serviceman of the Naga Regiment and a 42-year-old man were killed on Saturday when suspected Kuki militants ambushed five civilian vehicles in Manipur's Ukhrul district, police said, adding that a case has been filed and further probe is underway. Chief minister Y Khemchand Singh has condemned the incident and promised to hand over to the probe to the National Investigation Agency (NIA). According to police, the incident occurred around 2.30 pm at Kuki-dominated Yaolen village in the Litan area of Ukhrul district. An official aware of the matter said that security forces were escorting five civilian vehicles carrying Naga community members from Imphal to Kamjong district. The vehicles stopped at Yaolen village in Litan so a second security team could take over the escort to Kamjong. "Just after the first security team left, suspected armed militants attacked four vehicles in Yaolen. The ex-serviceman, who was sitting in the front passenger seat of a car, was struck by a bullet in the head and died on the spot," the official said, adding that the 42-year-old man succumbed to his injuries later during treatment. Security coverage has been a regular practice since February when tension escalated between the Tangkhul Naga and Kuki communities after violence erupted in Litan Sareikhong following a drunken brawl between some men belonging to the two communities. Since then, over 50 houses belonging to both the parties have been set ablaze. Police identified the deceased as SW Chinaoshang, a resident of Tashar village in Ukhrul and a former Indian Army soldier and Yaruingam Vashum, a resident of Ukhrul district. HT tried to reach out to the police but could not get a response. The incident took place hours after chief minister Y Khemchand Singh visited the Tangkhul Naga-majority hill district and appealed for peace and dialogue during an interaction with both Kuki and Naga residents. In a post on X on Saturday evening, the CM said, "I strongly condemn the killing of two innocent civilians in an attack by militants at T M Kasom village in Ukhrul district around 2.30 pm today. My government has decided to hand over the case to the National Investigation Agency (NIA)." "Ex gratia will be provided to the families of two victims, Chinaoshang Shokwungnao, a retired Army personnel of Naga Regiment, who hailed from Tashar village, and Yaruingam Vashum of Kharasom C V village," he added The Kuki-Zo Council has denied any community involvement in the firing. "We categorically and unequivocally deny any involvement of Kuki-Zo individuals or groups in this unfortunate incident," the Kuki-Zo Council (KZC), a Kuki-Zo civil body, said in a statement. The Working Committee of Tangkhul Naga Long strongly condemned the incident in a separate statement. "The victims were part of a group of passengers, including women, children, and elderly persons, travelling from Imphal to Ukhrul under security escort... The attack was carried out by Kuki SoO cadres using snipers and long-range weapons shortly after the security escort had withdrawn," it said. Ethnic violence has gripped Manipur since May 2023, claiming at least 260 lives and displacing around 60,000 people. It first began between the Meitei and Kuki communities and has since involved almost every group....