The army, whose operation against Manipur's militants involving 7,500 troops began late October, insisted it had the rebels on the run and had seized an important rebel base, believed to be the headquarters of the outlawed People's Liberation Army (PLA), in a densely forested region bordering Myanmar.

"The militants have suffered heavy losses including the fall of the headquarters of the outlawed People's Liberation Army," army spokesman Major Santanu Dev Goswami said from Manipur's state capital Imphal.

"The rebels are on the run and some of them have relocated their traditional bases and moved across the border to Myanmar."

The army strike is aimed at the United National Liberation Front (UNLF), the People's Liberation Army and the Kuki Revolutionary Army -- all fighting for independent homelands in Manipur, where rebel demands range from independence to more autonomy.

The rebels, meanwhile, said they had repulsed the attacks and inflicted heavy casualties on the army.

Goswami said only two soldiers had been killed in retaliatory strikes.

"A large number of weapons have been recovered, including Kalashnikov rifles, pistols, radio sets, explosives and ammunition. More than 15 improvised explosive devices were detected and neutralised," he added.

"The rebels are now trapped in a no-man's land and it is for them to decide whether to surrender and accept offers for peace talks," Goswami said.

At least 1,500 rebels are estimated to be operating in Manipur from roughly 50 to 70 well-entre-nched camps.

Manipur is one of seven states in India's remote northeast, a hotbed of ethnic and tribal groups fighting for autonomy or independence. Many of the rebel armies are believed to have bases in northern Myanmar.