Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday strongly condemned the attack on the Assam Rifles convoy in Manipur. Taking to Twitter, he paid homage to the soldiers and the family members who have been martyred in the attack today morning.

"Strongly condemn the attack on the Assam Rifles convoy in Manipur. I pay homage to those soldiers and family members who have been martyred today. Their sacrifice will never be forgotten. My thoughts are with the bereaved families in this hour of sadness," PM Modi tweeted.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, meanwhile, hit out at the Modi government over the attack, alleging the incident "once again proves" that it is incapable of protecting the nation. He also sent his condolence to the families of those who lost their lives in the attack.

"The terrorist attack on the army convoy in Manipur once again proves that the Modi government is not capable of protecting the nation. My condolences to the martyrs and condolences to their families. The nation will remember your sacrifice," he said in a tweet in Hindi.

For the unversed, an Assam Rifles Colonel, his wife and child as well as four of his colleagues were killed in a massive ambush staged by unidentified terrorists in the Thinghat area in Manipur on Saturday morning.

The insurgents ambushed a convoy of Assam Rifles around 11 am leading to the mass killing of the five Assam Rifles personnel, including the Colonel and his family, said an official statement of DG Assam Rifles.

"Five soldiers including Col Viplav Tripathi Commanding Officer of 46 Assam Rifles have made the supreme sacrifice in the line of duty," mentioned the statement.

The family of the Commanding Officer, wife and child also lost their lives in the incident, said the statement.

The Director General and all ranks of Assam Rifles offered condolences to the brave soldiers and families of the deceased, the statement added.

Police said the incident took place near Sehken village as the heavily armed militants fired upon the convoy of the Assam Rifles Colonel killing him, his wife, their son and three Quick Reaction Team jawans on the spot.

Militants attacked the convoy when the Colonel of the 46 Battalion of the Assam Rifles was going to supervise a civic action programme in the Churachandpur, bordering Myanmar.

This is for the first time that the militants in the northeast killed the family members of a security force official.

Though no militant organisation has claimed responsibility for the attack so far, the police and the intelligence officials suspect PLA cadres to be behind the heinous act.

(With PTI and IANS inputs)