At least 24 troops killed in one of the worst attacks on the country's security forces in recent years, police say.

Suspected Maoist rebels have killed at least 24 paramilitary soldiers on Monday in a remote part of central India, a police official said, the latest attack in a simmering internal conflict.

The soldiers were guarding road workers in the Sukma district of Chhattisgarh state when they came under fire. The rebels fired from hilltops at the group of soldiers, police officer Jitendra Shukla said.

Local media reported that at least six commandos had been critically injured and were being airlifted to safety.

The attack is the latest in a long-running conflict between insurgents and Indian authorities in the forests and rural areas of mainly central and eastern India.

"We have recovered 23 bodies from the spot and one jawan (soldier) died in Raipur during treatment," Anand Chhabra, a senior police officer in restive Chhattisgarh told AFP news agency, referring to the state capital.

Bhagwati Singh, a police spokesman said: "Our teams have been deployed there. We will receive more information about the situation soon."

Last month Maoist rebels killed 11 paramilitary policemen in the same state after ambushing their convoy.

The rebels, who say they are fighting for the rights of tribal people and landless farmers, often collect funds through extortion.

They say they are inspired by Chinese revolutionary leader Mao Zedong, and have been fighting for more than three decades in central and eastern India, staging hit-and-run attacks to press their demand for a greater share of wealth and more jobs for the poor.

The Maoists are believed to be present in at least 20 states but are most active in Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Bihar, Jharkhand and Maharashtra.

The violence is believed to have cost tens of thousands of lives, with much action focused around the rebel-dominated "Red Corridor" stretching through central and eastern India.

Critics believe attempts to end the revolt through tough security offensives are doomed to fail, saying the real solution is better governance and development of the region. </s> Maoist rebels ambushed paramilitary forces in eastern India's Chhattisgarh state on Saturday, 11 March, killing at least 11 policemen.

The attack on the team of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) took place at 9.10am local time (3.40am GMT) in Sukma district, which is one of the worst-Maoist affected districts in the country. It is located about 450km from the state capital, Raipur.

The policemen were deployed to provide security for road construction in the area when the Maoist rebels "ambushed them", Inspector General of Police Sunder Raj P told Reuters. There are apparently around 100 policemen on duty in the area.

At least four other policemen were injured in the attack, he said.

According to local media reports, the insurgents looted 10 weapons and radio sets from the slain police personnel in the region.

"The ambush was followed up by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) attack," a CRPF official in New Delhi said.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter to condemn the attack and said Home Minister Rajnath Singh would visit Sukma district to take stock of the situation.

Chhattisgarh state Chief Minister Raman Singh too condemned the attack as an act of cowardice.

"Maoists are losing their hold in Bastar and hence they are resorting to such violence. A massive combing operation is being carried out in the area to flush out the Maoists. Our forces are determined and capable of facing the challenge", he added.

Media reports also suggested that two of the Maoists were killed in the counter attack by the police forces.

Maoist rebels have been involved in an armed insurgency against the state for several decades. They control several areas in the north-eastern and central Indian states. The rebels claim to be fighting for the rights of the rural population and tribal groups.

At least 75 policemen were killed in 2010 when Maoist fighters ambushed and killed them by detonating explosives and firing from hilltops in the middle of a thick forest in Chhattisgarh. </s> Image copyright AP Image caption The Maoists say they are fighting for communist rule and greater rights for tribal people

Police in India say they have killed at least 24 Maoist rebels in the eastern state of Orissa.

One police officer was killed and another injured in the gunfight that followed in a forest straddling the border between Orissa and Andhra Pradesh states.

The region has seen a long-running insurgency by Maoists.

The Maoists say they are fighting for communist rule and greater rights for tribal people and the rural poor.

Their insurgency began in the eastern state of West Bengal in the late 1960s, spreading to more than one-third of India's 600-plus administrative districts.

Profile: India's Maoist rebels

'Top leader'

The police say that, following a tip-off, they ambushed a group of about 30 Maoist rebels in the forest early on Monday.

"It was a makeshift training camp," district police chief Mitrabhanu Mahapatra told Reuters news agency.

A number of weapons, including automatic rifles, were found in the area, which has been cordoned off.

Image caption Monday's operation is being seen as a major victory for security forces in the area

Orissa police chief KB Singh told BBC's Sandeep Sahu they believed a top Maoist leader was among those killed.

The bodies of the dead rebels are being recovered while a search is on for those who got away.

Monday's operation is being seen as a major victory for security forces, who have suffered heavy casualties in this area in the past.

In 2008, the Maoists blew up a police vehicle carrying 18 paramilitary personnel, killing all of them on the spot. </s> Suspected Maoist rebels killed 12 paramilitary commandos on Monday in a remote part of central India, a police official said, the latest attack in the country's simmering internal conflict.

The soldiers were guarding road workers in the Sukma district of Chhattisgargh state, a hotbed of insurgent violence, when they came under fire.

"So far, we know that 12 CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) personnel have been martyred in the Maoist attack," Bhagwati Singh, a police spokesman, told AFP by telephone.

"Our teams have been deployed there. We will receive more information about the situation soon."

Singh could not confirm reports in local media that at least six commandos had been critically injured and were being airlifted to safety.

The attack is the latest in a long-running conflict between insurgents and Indian authorities in the forests and rural areas of mainly central and eastern India.

Last month Maoist rebels killed 11 paramilitary policemen in the same state after ambushing their convoy.

The guerrillas, who say they are fighting for the rights of tribal people and landless farmers, often collect funds through extortion.

The Maoists are believed to be present in at least 20 states but are most active in Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Bihar, Jharkhand and Maharashtra.

The decades-long insurgency is believed to have cost tens of thousands of lives, with much action focused around the insurgent-dominated "Red Corridor" stretching through central and eastern India.

Critics believe attempts to end the revolt through tough security offensives are doomed to fail, saying the real solution is better governance and development of the region. </s> RAIPUR: Suspected Maoist rebels killed 24 paramilitary commandos and wounded six on Monday in a remote part of central India, police said, in one of the deadliest attacks of the long-running conflict.

The soldiers were guarding road workers in the Sukma district of Chhattisgarh state, a hotbed of insurgent violence, when they came under heavy fire.

"We have recovered 23 bodies from the spot and one jawan (soldier) died in Raipur during treatment," Anand Chhabra, a senior police officer, told AFP, referring to the state capital.

He said six other commandos were critically injured and had been evacuated for treatment.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemned the attack against the Central Reserve Police Force, saying their sacrifice would not be in vain.

"Attack on @CRPFIndia personnel in Chhattisgarh is cowardly and deplorable. We are monitoring the situation closely," Modi posted on Twitter.

Fatal attacks by insurgents on security forces in central and eastern India are frequent, but Monday’s assault was among the deadliest in years.

Last month rebels killed 11 paramilitary policemen in the same state after ambushing their convoy, while at least 20 troops died in a 2015 attack.

In 2010, Maoists ambushed a police patrol, killing 76 in the worst-ever massacre of security forces by the insurgents. The incident shook the country and led to pressure on the government to rethink its tactics.

The Maoist insurgency started as a peasant uprising in 1967 and both sides have engaged ever since in tit-for-tat skirmishes in forests and rural areas.

The guerrillas, who say they are fighting for the rights of tribal people and landless farmers, often collect funds through extortion.

The Maoists are believed to be present in at least 20 states but are most active in Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Bihar, Jharkhand and Maharashtra.

The long-running insurgency has cost thousands of lives in the insurgent-dominated "Red Corridor" stretching through central and eastern India. It was described by then-prime minister Manmohan Singh as the nation’s most serious internal security threat.

Critics believe attempts to end the revolt through tough security offensives are doomed to fail, saying the real solution is better governance and development of the region. </s> Security forces were hunting through forests in southeast India Monday for Maoist rebels after a fierce gunfight left 21 rebels dead and two policemen wounded.

The gunfight broke out late Sunday after police received a tip that 60 Maoist rebels were gathered in forests on the border of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh states, said a police officer speaking on customary condition of anonymity.

The gunfight lasted an hour before the rebels scattered into the dense forests. At daybreak Monday, police and paramilitary soldiers launched a search for them, he said.

Police have recovered some arms and ammunition from the area.

Andhra Pradesh's top police officer Nanduri Sambasiva Rao said search operations were going on as there were reports that some rebels were still in the area.

The rebels, who have been fighting for more than three decades demanding land and jobs for tenant farmers and the poor, say they are inspired by Chinese revolutionary leader Mao Zedong.

Considered India's biggest internal security threat, they operate in 20 of India's 28 states and have thousands of fighters. </s> It was one of the heaviest casualty tolls suffered this year by the insurgents, who have fought a decades-long war against the Indian state from jungle hideouts across eastern and central India.

Police acted on a tip-off that around 30 rebels had gathered close to the border with Andhra Pradesh state, Odisha police chief K.B. Singh said.

He said there was no immediate information on police casualties. Officers had seized automatic rifles and ammunition from the scene.

"It was a joint operation by Andhra and Odisha police conducted last night... The operation is still going on," Singh said.

Maoist rebels accuse the Indian state of plundering the mineral-rich and underdeveloped east and central regions of the country at the expense of the poor and landless, among whom they retain some support.

While the level of violence has fallen in recent years, and the Maoists have lost hundreds of fighters to desertions and battles with security forces, the rebels remain capable of staging regular hit-and-run attacks across several states.

In July, Maoists killed at least 10 members of an elite Indian police force in the south of Bihar state.

According to the South Asia Terrorism Portal, 337 people have been killed in left-wing extremist violence so far this year, more than half of them alleged insurgents. </s> Suspected Maoist rebels have killed 11 paramilitary commandos on Saturday in a remote part of central India after ambushing their convoy, police said, the latest attack in a simmering internal conflict.

The troops were on their way to provide protection to workers for a road construction project when the gunmen attacked, a senior police officer of the restive Chhattisgarh state said.

The assault is the latest in a deadly conflict that pits the fighters against local and national authorities in the forests and rural areas of mainly central and eastern India.

The armed group, who say they are fighting for the rights of tribal people and landless farmers, often collect funds through extortion.

READ MORE: Indian police accused of mass rape during operation

"We can confirm that 11 security personnel have lost their lives in the ambush which was carried out by Maoist rebels in Sukma district," police deputy inspector general Sundarraj P told AFP news agency.

"Three other CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) personnel are critically injured. We have deployed helicopters to evacuate them."

The rebels also snatched weapons and radio sets from the attack site, local media reports said.

The Maoists are believed to be present in at least 20 states, but are most active in Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Bihar, Jharkhand and Maharashtra, occupying thousands of square kilometres of land.

The decades-long conflict is believed to have cost tens of thousands of lives, with much action focused around the so-called "Red Corridor" stretching through central and eastern India.

Critics believe attempts to end the revolt through tough security offensives are doomed to fail, saying the real solution is development of the region. </s> NEW DELHI: Maoist guerrillas ambushed a paramilitary patrol in central India on Monday, killing at least 24 policemen and wounding six in one of the deadliest attacks this year, senior officials said.

The attack was the second in as many months in remote Sukma district in the forests of Chhattisgarh state, about 400 kms (250 miles) from state capital Raipur.

Maoists seeking to overthrow the government have operated for decades across a wide swathe of central and eastern India. Security experts say the insurgency is India's biggest internal security challenge.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the attack on the patrol party of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) was cowardly. "The sacrifice of the martyrs will not go in vain," he said.

Junior central home minister Hansraj Ahir will visit Chhattisgarh to take stock of the situation, the government said.

The CRPF men were providing security for road construction, Vijay Kumar, a senior CRPF official told Reuters.

Maoist rebels have grown in strength in recent times in areas where poor, tribal villagers have come into conflict with mining companies seeking resources for industrialisation.

Critics believe attempts to end the revolt through tough security offensives are doomed to fail, saying the real solution is better governance and development of the region.
Indian police kill at least 24 Maoist rebels during a raid in eastern Orissa State.