South Asia News
Ten policemen killed in rebel attack in eastern India
Jan 21, 2012, 10:40 GMT
New Delhi - At least 10 paramilitary policemen were killed Saturday after Maoist rebels triggered a landmine blast in India's eastern state of Jharkhand, media reports said.
The blast took place when a van carrying the security officers was passing through the Bariganwa forests in the western district of Garhwa, broadcaster NDTV reported.
The blast was followed by a gunfight between the policemen and the rebels, the report said. Five more policemen were injured in the incident.
The Maoist insurgency, which started in the 1960s, now affects more than one-third of India's 626 administrative districts.
The rebels say they are fighting for the rights of tribal, landless and poor people in some of India's most impoverished areas.
Maoist-related violence witnessed a decline last year in Jharkhand and other Indian states worst-affected by the insurgency, with casualty figures dropping to 589, from more than 1,000 in 2010.
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