Maoist killed 10 paramilitary commandos in India

MNA International Desk: Maoist insurgents have killed 10 paramilitary commandos in eastern India after ambushing their convoy and exploding a series of bombs, police said on Tuesday.

At least 10 CRPF commandos belonging to its elite Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (COBRA) battalion were killed in an IED blast in the jungles of Bihar’s Aurangabad district on Monday.

The personnel of the COBRA unit were ambushed after which an encounter started between the two sides. The encounter took place as CRPF personnel started combing operation on information of a big assembly of ultras in Madanpur, a heavily Maoist-infested area of Aurangabad.

As CRPF and Bihar Police team marched, a group of Maoists, hiding near Dumri Nala ambushed them. Officials said the fatalities may increase as some of the personnel of the COBRA were injured in a fierce gun battle.

The personnel belonged to the 205th COBRA battalion and were deployed in the state for conducting anti-Maoist operations. This is one of the biggest casualties of the elite COBRA unit.

Attackers fired indiscriminately from hilltops into the group from the Central Reserve Police Force who were stranded on lower ground, Kundan Krishnan, Bihar inspector general of police, said.

“The first group of jawans (troopers) was ambushed and a dozen IEDs (improvised explosive devices) exploded in no time. Eight died on the spot and two jawans died in hospital.”Krishnan said.

At least three rebels were killed in the subsequent gunfight that lasted into Monday night before the Maoists fled deeper into the forest in Aurangabad district bordering Jharkhand state, Krishnan said.

Police were investigating whether the commandos were drawn into the forest by a false tipoff about Maoist movements in the area.

“We called off the operation late at night as we suspect more mines were planted in the area,” Saurabh Kumar, deputy inspector general of police in the region told to media.

In December 2014, Maoists killed 13 police and wounded another 12 in an ambush in a remote part of Chhattisgarh. The troops were carrying out an operation deep in a forest when the gunmen attacked.