Twenty five Maoist guerrillas shot dead in India
Indian security forces claim they’ve shot dead 25 suspected Maoist guerrillas in the central state of Chhattisgarh.
Issued on: Modified:
About 500 police and paramilitaries attacked a group of up to 200 suspected Maoists who had gathered for a meeting in a village in Dantewada district.
Police encircled the Maoists in the jungle after they acted on intelligence reports, the Times of India says.
The Maoists who control the dense forests in Dantewada have been blamed for killing 125 police and troopers in three separate attacks in the central Indian state since April, according to official data.
The government admitted earlier this month that almost 1,000 people including 577 civilians died in the first 10 months of this year linked to Maoist insurgency.
The authorities launched an offensive last year to tackle the insurgency, which has spread to 15 of India's 20 states and is described by Premier Manmohan Singh as the biggest internal security threat facing the country.
The movement which began in 1967 feeds off land disputes, police brutality and corruption, and is strongest in the poorest and most deprived areas of India.
Daily newsletterReceive essential international news every morning
Subscribe