Security forces clash with Maoists in central India
RAIPUR, India Security forces fought a pitched jungle battle Wednesday with Maoist rebels in central India, officials said, with no casualties reported on the government side.
The clash, involving 225 police and commandos and an unspecified number of the leftwing guerrillas, took place in the deep jungle of Dantewada district in the state of Chhattisgarh -- a Maoist stronghold.
"No one from the security forces was killed or injured, but some Maoists may have been killed," said Rajesh Kukreja, Dantewada's deputy police chief.
The gun battle began at around midday (0630 GMT) and lasted for several hours.
Dantewada has witnessed a series of deadly Maoist strikes in recent months.
In April, a rebel ambush killed 76 policemen in the bloodiest single attack so far on the security forces.
The government launched a major offensive last year to tackle the Maoists, also known as Naxalites because they trace their insurgency back to a 1967 peasant uprising in the West Bengal village of Naxalbari.
The rebels are active across a large swathe of eastern and central India, and rely on support from landless tribal groups and poor farmers who have been left behind by economic development.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has labelled the Maoists as the country's single largest internal security threat.
On Tuesday, Chhattisgarh Home Minister Nankiram Kanwar revealed that 853 people, including 435 security personnel and 418 civilians, had been killed in Maoist violence in the state since 2007.
He did not give any details of Maoist casualties.
AFP: Security forces clash with Maoists in central India
RAIPUR, India Security forces fought a pitched jungle battle Wednesday with Maoist rebels in central India, officials said, with no casualties reported on the government side.
The clash, involving 225 police and commandos and an unspecified number of the leftwing guerrillas, took place in the deep jungle of Dantewada district in the state of Chhattisgarh -- a Maoist stronghold.
"No one from the security forces was killed or injured, but some Maoists may have been killed," said Rajesh Kukreja, Dantewada's deputy police chief.
The gun battle began at around midday (0630 GMT) and lasted for several hours.
Dantewada has witnessed a series of deadly Maoist strikes in recent months.
In April, a rebel ambush killed 76 policemen in the bloodiest single attack so far on the security forces.
The government launched a major offensive last year to tackle the Maoists, also known as Naxalites because they trace their insurgency back to a 1967 peasant uprising in the West Bengal village of Naxalbari.
The rebels are active across a large swathe of eastern and central India, and rely on support from landless tribal groups and poor farmers who have been left behind by economic development.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has labelled the Maoists as the country's single largest internal security threat.
On Tuesday, Chhattisgarh Home Minister Nankiram Kanwar revealed that 853 people, including 435 security personnel and 418 civilians, had been killed in Maoist violence in the state since 2007.
He did not give any details of Maoist casualties.
AFP: Security forces clash with Maoists in central India