RAIPUR: Hundreds of Maoist reb­els gunned down 17 Indian security personnel in one of the deadliest ambushes in recent years by the militants, a police spokesman said on Sunday.

More than 300 rebels took part in the attack on a police commando patrol in the jungles of Sukma district of Chhattisgarh state in central India, police superintendent Shalab Sinha said.

Large numbers of reinforcements were sent to the district on Sunday. “We have recovered 17 bodies and another 15 police are being treated for injuries,” he said.

“We believe the ambush was carried out by between 300 and 350 attackers.”

Other officials said four Maoists were killed in the battle that took place on Saturday.

According to sources, the slain men were among a group of nearly 600 personnel who had launched an anti-Maoist operation from three sides towards Elmagunda in Sukma.

The operation was launched on the basis of reports about a huge gathering of Maoists there. The encounter took place at around 2.30pm near Korajguda hills in Chintagufa area.

The exchange of fire broke out between the two sides near Minpa village. The gun battle lasted about two-and-a-half hours following which 17 personnel were found to be missing, said the sources.

The toll was the worst for Indian security forces battling the extreme left-wing guerillas since April, 2017 when 25 police commandos were killed in an attack in the same district.

Sixteen commandos were killed in a bomb attack in the western state of Maharashtra before India’s election last year that was blamed on the Maoists.

The militants, who say they are fighting for rural people and the poor, have been fighting government forces across Jhar­khand, West Bengal, Orissa, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Mahar­ashtra, Andhra Pradesh and other states since the 1960s.

Thousands have been killed in the fighting.

Published in Dawn, March 23rd, 2020