At least 24 troops killed in one of the worst attacks on the country's security forces in recent years, police say.

Suspected Maoist rebels have killed at least 24 paramilitary soldiers on Monday in a remote part of central India, a police official said, the latest attack in a simmering internal conflict.

The soldiers were guarding road workers in the Sukma district of Chhattisgarh state when they came under fire. The rebels fired from hilltops at the group of soldiers, police officer Jitendra Shukla said.

Local media reported that at least six commandos had been critically injured and were being airlifted to safety.

The attack is the latest in a long-running conflict between insurgents and Indian authorities in the forests and rural areas of mainly central and eastern India.

"We have recovered 23 bodies from the spot and one jawan (soldier) died in Raipur during treatment," Anand Chhabra, a senior police officer in restive Chhattisgarh told AFP news agency, referring to the state capital.

Bhagwati Singh, a police spokesman said: "Our teams have been deployed there. We will receive more information about the situation soon."

Last month Maoist rebels killed 11 paramilitary policemen in the same state after ambushing their convoy.

The rebels, who say they are fighting for the rights of tribal people and landless farmers, often collect funds through extortion.

They say they are inspired by Chinese revolutionary leader Mao Zedong, and have been fighting for more than three decades in central and eastern India, staging hit-and-run attacks to press their demand for a greater share of wealth and more jobs for the poor.

The Maoists are believed to be present in at least 20 states but are most active in Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Bihar, Jharkhand and Maharashtra.

The violence is believed to have cost tens of thousands of lives, with much action focused around the rebel-dominated "Red Corridor" stretching through central and eastern India.

Critics believe attempts to end the revolt through tough security offensives are doomed to fail, saying the real solution is better governance and development of the region. </s> Maoist rebels ambushed paramilitary forces in eastern India's Chhattisgarh state on Saturday, 11 March, killing at least 11 policemen.

The attack on the team of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) took place at 9.10am local time (3.40am GMT) in Sukma district, which is one of the worst-Maoist affected districts in the country. It is located about 450km from the state capital, Raipur.

The policemen were deployed to provide security for road construction in the area when the Maoist rebels "ambushed them", Inspector General of Police Sunder Raj P told Reuters. There are apparently around 100 policemen on duty in the area.

At least four other policemen were injured in the attack, he said.

According to local media reports, the insurgents looted 10 weapons and radio sets from the slain police personnel in the region.

"The ambush was followed up by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) attack," a CRPF official in New Delhi said.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter to condemn the attack and said Home Minister Rajnath Singh would visit Sukma district to take stock of the situation.

Chhattisgarh state Chief Minister Raman Singh too condemned the attack as an act of cowardice.

"Maoists are losing their hold in Bastar and hence they are resorting to such violence. A massive combing operation is being carried out in the area to flush out the Maoists. Our forces are determined and capable of facing the challenge", he added.

Media reports also suggested that two of the Maoists were killed in the counter attack by the police forces.

Maoist rebels have been involved in an armed insurgency against the state for several decades. They control several areas in the north-eastern and central Indian states. The rebels claim to be fighting for the rights of the rural population and tribal groups.

At least 75 policemen were killed in 2010 when Maoist fighters ambushed and killed them by detonating explosives and firing from hilltops in the middle of a thick forest in Chhattisgarh. </s> Image copyright AP Image caption The Maoists say they are fighting for communist rule and greater rights for tribal people

Police in India say they have killed at least 24 Maoist rebels in the eastern state of Orissa.

One police officer was killed and another injured in the gunfight that followed in a forest straddling the border between Orissa and Andhra Pradesh states.

The region has seen a long-running insurgency by Maoists.

The Maoists say they are fighting for communist rule and greater rights for tribal people and the rural poor.

Their insurgency began in the eastern state of West Bengal in the late 1960s, spreading to more than one-third of India's 600-plus administrative districts.

Profile: India's Maoist rebels

'Top leader'

The police say that, following a tip-off, they ambushed a group of about 30 Maoist rebels in the forest early on Monday.

"It was a makeshift training camp," district police chief Mitrabhanu Mahapatra told Reuters news agency.

A number of weapons, including automatic rifles, were found in the area, which has been cordoned off.

Image caption Monday's operation is being seen as a major victory for security forces in the area

Orissa police chief KB Singh told BBC's Sandeep Sahu they believed a top Maoist leader was among those killed.

The bodies of the dead rebels are being recovered while a search is on for those who got away.

Monday's operation is being seen as a major victory for security forces, who have suffered heavy casualties in this area in the past.

In 2008, the Maoists blew up a police vehicle carrying 18 paramilitary personnel, killing all of them on the spot. </s> Suspected Maoist rebels killed 12 paramilitary commandos on Monday in a remote part of central India, a police official said, the latest attack in the country's simmering internal conflict.

The soldiers were guarding road workers in the Sukma district of Chhattisgargh state, a hotbed of insurgent violence, when they came under fire.

"So far, we know that 12 CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) personnel have been martyred in the Maoist attack," Bhagwati Singh, a police spokesman, told AFP by telephone.

"Our teams have been deployed there. We will receive more information about the situation soon."

Singh could not confirm reports in local media that at least six commandos had been critically injured and were being airlifted to safety.

The attack is the latest in a long-running conflict between insurgents and Indian authorities in the forests and rural areas of mainly central and eastern India.

Last month Maoist rebels killed 11 paramilitary policemen in the same state after ambushing their convoy.

The guerrillas, who say they are fighting for the rights of tribal people and landless farmers, often collect funds through extortion.

The Maoists are believed to be present in at least 20 states but are most active in Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Bihar, Jharkhand and Maharashtra.

The decades-long insurgency is believed to have cost tens of thousands of lives, with much action focused around the insurgent-dominated "Red Corridor" stretching through central and eastern India.

Critics believe attempts to end the revolt through tough security offensives are doomed to fail, saying the real solution is better governance and development of the region.
Indian police kill at least 24 Maoist rebels during a raid in eastern Orissa State.