Raipur: At least ten suspected Naxal rebels were killed and several others injured in an encounter with security forces in Maoist-hit Sukma district of Chhattisgarh on Tuesday.
Eleven automatic guns were also recovered from the encounter spot.
On a tip off about the presence of Naxals in the forest area of Puarti village, a search was launched by Greyhounds Force of Andhra Pradesh and district force early this morning.
"On spotting the security forces, ultras opened fire and in the retaliatory action, nine rebels were killed and several others were injured," Inspector General of Police, Bastar Range, Himanshu Gupta said.
However, a senior CRPF official said in Delhi that ten Naxals were killed in the encounter.
Meanwhile, a helicopter was rushed from Bhadrachalam in Andhra Pradesh to the encounter site to airlift bodies of the dead Naxals.
The combing operation is still on in the jungle.
10 Naxals killed in encounter in Chhattisgarh