Indian security personnel kill 5 armed rebels

Indian security forces gunned down at least five armed Naxal rebels in India's central state of Chhattisgarh on Sunday, confirmed a local senior cop, reported Xinhua.

The rebels were eliminated in the National Park area of Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district, local media quoted Bijapur Superintendent of Police Jitendra Yadav as saying.

According to him, an exchange of fire took place between the security personnel and the ultras, and that five dead bodies had been recovered. A search operation was on to find more dead bodies at the encounter site.

"The bodies of 5 Naxals have been recovered. Naxalite material, including weapons, explosives and automatic weapons have been recovered from the encounter site. One Self Loading Rifle (SLR), one 12-bore rifle, one single Shot rifle, and a Barrel Grenafe Launcher (BGL) have been recovered. The search operation is ongoing," Yadav said.

Later, media reports said that two police personnel were injured in an IED blast in Bijapur. Both cops were admitted to a local hospital where their conditions were said to be stable.

Claiming to be fighting for the rights of the local tribesmen, the Naxals had been active over the years in several Indian states. They mainly target Indian security personnel and government installations.

Recently, the country's Home (Internal Security) Minister Amit Shah announced that Naxalism would be wiped out from the country by March 2026.