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Suspected Maoists kill 14 Indian police: officials
Suspected armed Maoist rebels riding motorcycles on Monday killed 14 policemen in a daring gun and bomb attack on a security camp in eastern India, police and officials said.
It was the deadliest Maoist raid on security forces since October, when the left-wing guerrillas gunned down 17 policemen in western India, one of a series of assaults in an increasingly lethal insurgency.
The latest deadly rebel attack came amidst a security offensive in several states to flush out the outlawed insurgents from their strongholds, Indian television reported.
Two Maoist guerrillas were also killed in Monday's raid in West Bengal state's Midnapore district following a gunbattle with security forces, local administrator N.S. Nigam told AFP.
"Nine policemen were shot dead and five others burnt alive in a fire which started following a landmine blast in their security camp," Nigam said by telephone from Midnapore.
Local television footage showed heavily armed policemen hunkering down on a road as the fire blazed in their camp.
West Bengal state police inspector general Surojit Purokayastha said some 20 Maoists on motorcycles had attacked the camp.
"The attack was to protest the crackdown on Maoist rebels in the district," he said, adding 100 policemen and security personnel were in the facility when it was hit.
"The withdrawal of security forces from the district is a long-standing demand of the Maoists," Purokayastha said.
Maoists in the area have so far not accepted responsibility for the attack.
Last October, Maoist-backed activists hijacked an express train in West Bengal to demand the release of a tribal leader arrested in September, but there were no casualties.
Little is known about the Maoist movement's shadowy leadership or its strength. It is said to number between 10,000 and 20,000 followers.
Suspected Maoists kill 17 Indian police: official
Suspected armed Maoist rebels riding motorcycles on Monday killed 14 policemen in a daring gun and bomb attack on a security camp in eastern India, police and officials said.
It was the deadliest Maoist raid on security forces since October, when the left-wing guerrillas gunned down 17 policemen in western India, one of a series of assaults in an increasingly lethal insurgency.
The latest deadly rebel attack came amidst a security offensive in several states to flush out the outlawed insurgents from their strongholds, Indian television reported.
Two Maoist guerrillas were also killed in Monday's raid in West Bengal state's Midnapore district following a gunbattle with security forces, local administrator N.S. Nigam told AFP.
"Nine policemen were shot dead and five others burnt alive in a fire which started following a landmine blast in their security camp," Nigam said by telephone from Midnapore.
Local television footage showed heavily armed policemen hunkering down on a road as the fire blazed in their camp.
West Bengal state police inspector general Surojit Purokayastha said some 20 Maoists on motorcycles had attacked the camp.
"The attack was to protest the crackdown on Maoist rebels in the district," he said, adding 100 policemen and security personnel were in the facility when it was hit.
"The withdrawal of security forces from the district is a long-standing demand of the Maoists," Purokayastha said.
Maoists in the area have so far not accepted responsibility for the attack.
Last October, Maoist-backed activists hijacked an express train in West Bengal to demand the release of a tribal leader arrested in September, but there were no casualties.
Little is known about the Maoist movement's shadowy leadership or its strength. It is said to number between 10,000 and 20,000 followers.
Suspected Maoists kill 17 Indian police: official