July 13, 2007	Friday	Jamadi-us-Sani 27, 1428

HYDERABAD (India): Maoist rebels destroyed TV and power sites near a major port in southeast India on Thursday, less than a week after they killed 24 troops in an ambush in a nearby state, police said.

The attacks on a television transmission tower and a power station took place in a town near the busy port city of Vishakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh state, a hotbed of left-wing insurgent activity.

“They used gelatine sticks (dynamite) to blast the TV centre, the power station and a state guest house,” police chief A. Sabharwal said from the port, adding that no casualties were reported.

The attacks came just a few days after troops fought a bloody battle with Maoist rebels in the jungles of nearby Chhattisgarh state. A total of 24 soldiers and 20 rebels died in the fighting, which ended Tuesday.

Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh are believed to be the Maoists' strongest power bases.—AFP