One of the disputed areas was a small sliver of land near the village of Pyrdiwah which the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) had occupied since the 1971 liberation of Bangladesh. The village was one of the Indian exclaves near the border of Bangladesh with the Indian state of Meghalaya.[24][25] Bangladesh claimed that the village was within its territory.[26] Five battalions of the 19th division of the Bangladesh Army, with additional personnel from the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), attacked the positions of India's Border Security Force at Pyrdiwah at 01:00 hours on 16 April 2001.[27] India claimed that Bangladeshi troops overran and occupied the village, which was near the town of Dauki, and that Bangladeshi forces were holding more than 20 Indian soldiers hostage.[28] However, Bangladesh insisted that Indian forces launched an early-morning attack on their posts in the frontier district of Kurigram, which lay on the border with the Indian state of Assam, on the morning of 16 April.[28] Indian forces eventually responded but failed to retake the village. The combat remained limited to the border troops of the respective nations, though mortars were used in addition to automatic weapons fire. Between 10,000 and 20,000 villagers living in the area fled the fighting, with at least 17 suffering wounds. Several villages were destroyed or heavily damaged in the fighting. 81 Indian and 2 Bangladeshi troops died during the conflict according to India, although Bangladesh claimed that 89 Indian soldiers were killed with 3 Bangladeshi fatalities.[25][28] Top Indian border security sources claimed that the BDR personnel had retreated in the Meghalaya sector, while in the Assam sector, the Indian BSF had vacated positions seized from Bangladesh.[29] Fresh clashes erupted along the IndiaBangladesh border just hours after both sides voiced regret for the recent killings, but by midnight of 20 April firing had again stopped. An article reported that 6,000 Indian civilians had fled the region, and Indian government officials were attempting to convince villagers to return to their homes.[26] The Indian BSF agreed to take back bodies of five of its soldiers at Rowmari sector, whilst the other 11-17 were classified as 'missing'. Bangladesh later agreed to return the dead Indian soldiers the next day.[29] Upon examining the bodies of the dead personnel, India alleged that the BSF men were tortured before being shot dead.[30][31] Three Bangladeshi soldiers were also killed: two during combat and another who died of wounds sustained during operations.