At least 26 Maoist guerrillas were killed in a battle with special forces of police in the western state of Maharashtra India, according to media and officials.
Fierce fighting broke out as special police forces conducted a search operation in forest areas in Ganciroli district.
“We have retrieved 26 bodies so far”, said the head of the police in the area, Ankit Goyal, in the online edition of the Indian Express newspaper.
A senior police officer declined to give an account of the casualties, saying only that reports were still being received from the remote area. He stressed, however, that the final toll of the victims may be “higher” than has been announced so far.
Among the guerrillas who fell in the fighting is believed to be one of their top executives, according to Indian media.
Four police officers who were seriously injured in the hostilities were airlifted to a hospital in Nagpur, where they are being treated.
Ganciroli is a well-known stronghold of the Maoists.
In April, 22 members of the Indian security forces were killed in a Maoist guerrilla ambush in the neighboring state of Chhattisgarh.
The Maoist uprising began during the 1960s. These insurgents operate in isolated, remote forest areas in several states of India. The conflict has flared up since the rise to power of nationalist Hindu Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Since the Maoist uprising began in 2000, nearly 11,000 people have been killed – including civilians, guerrillas and members of the security forces – according to data compiled by the South Asia Terrorism Portal.
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