Indian security forces have killed at least 12 Maoist rebels during a raid that also left three officers dead, police said, as authorities press a major offensive against the Naxals, even as the armed group proposed a truce.
The operation in Chhattisgarh province on Wednesday comes two weeks after forces killed top Maoist leader Madvi Hidma, along with his wife and four militants, in the same area.
New Delhi has launched an all-out offensive and repeatedly vowed to end the Maoist rebellion by March.
The raids have continued even after the guerrillas announced a halt to their decades-long insurgency.
On Wednesday, police sent forces to a remote forested area in Chhattisgarh after receiving intelligence about the presence of rebels.
"12 bodies of the Maoists have been recovered from the encounter site in Bijapur-Dantewada districts," senior officer Sundarraj Pattilingam told AFP, adding that three policemen were killed and two others sustained bullet injuries.
Naxalism
India continues its armed campaign against the remnants of the Naxalite rebellion, named after the village, Naxalbari, in the Himalayan foothills where the Maoist-inspired insurgency began nearly six decades ago.
Two months ago, the Maoists said they were suspending their armed struggle and offered talks with the government.
Nearly 300 Maoist rebels have surrendered in recent weeks.
More than 12,000 rebels, soldiers, and civilians have died in the conflict since a handful of villagers rose against feudal lords in 1967.
The rebellion controlled nearly a third of the country with an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 fighters at its peak in the mid-2000s, but it has been dramatically weakened in recent years.
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Source: TRT