Originally published on March 11, 2014
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At least 20 security personnel were killed by Maoist rebels in central India on Tuesday morning.
A convoy of trucks was carrying about 50 security officers to assist a road construction team in a remote part of the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. The team consisted of officers of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and the state police.
Landmines were triggered as the convoy was passing the Tongpal area near the Jeeram Valley, Zee News reported. The troops found themselves ambushed by over a hundred rebels, who are also known as Naxals. The Maoists were heavily armed, and a fierce gunbattle followed.
The attack led to at least 20 deaths and the death toll is likely to rise. Several others were injured, but there was little information on the wounded.
The Naxals launched an attack on the same area last year, which killed 27 people. Quoting India's Home Ministry figures, Bloomberg Businessweek reported that the Naxals have killed at least 9,500 people since 1998.
Fashioning themselves as Mao Zedong's agents in India, the Naxals have seized control of the area called the "Red Corridor" in remote regions of East India. The guerilla fighters spread the communist ideologies among locals by telling them the government and companies are exploiting their land. Highly skeptical of democracy, the rebels also told followers not to vote in the elections.
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