(MENAFN) Communist insurgents have launched a deadly assault in the eastern state of Chhattisgarh, India, killing three members of the security forces and injuring 15 others, according to local police reports.
The attackers, identified as Maoist rebels or Naxalites, have been engaged in an insurgency spanning large swathes of Chhattisgarh and neighboring regions for decades, despite sustained government efforts to quell their activities. The insurgents assert that they are championing the rights of the impoverished and indigenous tribes residing in the area.
Police authorities stated that six rebels were neutralized when security forces retaliated after being ambushed late on Tuesday. The attack occurred during a concerted operation targeting the insurgents in the Jonaguda-Aliguda forests.
The operation involved the participation of the Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA), a specialized unit of the paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force designated to combat Maoist threats, along with the District Reserve Guard, an armed division of the local police, and a specialized police task force.
“All the soldiers gave a befitting reply … our three jawans – two CoBRA jawans and one CRPF jawan – were martyred. Fifteen were injured too,” the region’s police head, Sundarraj P, stated.
The region was the site for one of the most fatal assaults by Maoists in April 2021, when 23 CRPF personnel were murdered.
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