Indian Maoist rebels kill at least 22 security force members in gun battle
- The security personnel were attacked during an anti-insurgency operation in tribal-dominated Chhattisgarh state
- The Maoists, also known as Naxals, have waged an armed insurgency against the Indian government for decades
At least 22 members of the Indian security forces were killed in a central Indian state by Maoist fighters, in one of the bloodiest attacks by the extreme left-wing insurgent group this year, officials said on Sunday.
Security personnel belonging to the Central Reserve Police Force’s elite CoBRA unit, the District Reserve Guard, and the Special Task Force were attacked on Saturday in the tribal-dominated Chhattisgarh state during an anti-insurgency operation.
“We can confirm that 22 of Indian force members have been killed by Maoist fighters,” said a senior government official in Raipur, the capital of mineral-rich Chhattisgarh.
They were killed in firing that lasted for four hours in the border district of Sukma, 540km (340 miles) south of Raipur.
Om Prakash Pal, a senior police official in Raipur, said combing operations to trace one missing security force member were being conducted.
The death toll was the heaviest for Indian security forces battling the far-left guerillas since 2017.