By . Sara Malm . PUBLISHED: . 20:01 EST, 26 May 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 20:02 EST, 26 May 2013 . Hundreds of Maoist rebels attacked a convoy of leading Indian politicians, killing 24 people on Saturday. Militants ambushed members of the Congress Party as they returned from a campaign event in Chhattisgarh, central India, planting landmines and shooting party leaders and supporters. Four state party leaders and eight police officers were among the victims of the attack, which also saw 37 people injured. Attack: Indian medical staff take an injured victim into the Ram Krishna Hospital in Raipur after an ambush on a convoy of Congress Party leaders by Maioist rebels . Today, Indian officials reacted with outrage at the attack, which was carried out in Chhattisgarh’s tribal community as an apparent warning to officials to stay away from the Maoist rebel stronghold. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and party President Sonia Gandhi visited some of the injured in a hospital Sunday in the Chhattisgarh state capital Raipur, promising the government would take firm action against the perpetrators. ‘We are devastated,’ said Gandhi, who denounced the ‘dastardly attack’ as a on the country's democratic values. Rajnath Singh, president of the opposition Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, said the country should unite in its fight against the Maoist insurgency, known as Naxalites. The convoy was attacked in a densely forested area about 215 miles south of Raipur as the Congress members were returning from a party rally. Grief: Relatives of victims of the attack, which killed 24 people and injured 37, cry outside the hospital in Raipur . Uprising: According to police officers, 11 of the 37 injured are still in a critical condition following the ambush in a forest in the central Indian state . Damage done: A man in blood-covered trousers is treated for his injuries in the attack which saw about 200 suspected Maoist rebels set off a land mine and open fire on the convoy . Solidarity: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, second from left, and chairperson of the National Advisory Council, Sonia Gandhi, fourth from left, meet an injured person at a Raipur hospital on Sunday . About 200 attackers blocked the road . by felling trees, forcing the convoy to halt. Police officer R.K. Vij . said the suspected rebels triggered a land mine that blew up one of the . cars. The attackers then fired at the Congress party leaders and their . supporters before fleeing. Congress . is the main opposition party in the state. It has stepped up political . activities, trying to win the support of tribals, ahead of state . elections scheduled to be held by December. Police officer Vij said 11 of the 37 injured were in serious condition. Police . identified one of those dead as Mahendra Karma, a Congress party leader . in Chhattisgarh who founded a local militia to combat the Maoist . rebels. The anti-rebel militia had to be reined in after it was accused . of atrocities against people of lower castes, known as ‘tribals’. Planned ambush: Wreckage of a vehicle lying in the dense forest area at the incident site after the Maoists attack . Destruction: A man stands next to a crater caused by a land mine blast in the rebel attack on Saturday . Fatal: Indian security personnel carry the body of one of the victims of Saturday's rebel ambush in Bastar, 215 miles south of Raipur in Chhattisgarh state . The dead also included state Congress party chief Nand Kumar Patel and his son. K.P.S. Gill, a former police chief of Punjab state who has written widely on . reform, said the attack was ‘a very horrifying incident.’ However, Gill said the state government was incapable of devising a strategy to tackle the Maoist threat. ‘They don't have the political will and bureaucratic and police set-up to prevent such attacks,’ he said. He said the state government had ignored the need for special forces to tackle the threat. ‘Most of the special forces in the state are being used for non-operational duties like guarding state politicians,’ he said. Protest: Congress Party supporters burn an effigy of Dr.Raman Singh, the chief minister of the Indian state of Chhattisgarh during a demonstration against the attack . Prime Minister Singh has called the rebels India's biggest internal security threat. They are now present in 20 of India's 28 states and have thousands of fighters, according to the Home Ministry. The Naxalites  have been fighting the central government for more than four decades, demanding land and jobs for tenant farmers and the poor. They take their name from the West Bengal village of Naxalbari where the movement began in 1967. The fighters were inspired by Chinese Communist revolutionary leader Mao Zedong and have drawn support from displaced tribal populations opposed to corporate exploitation and official corruption. The government has offered to begin peace talks with the rebels, but without success. The Maoists demand that it first withdraw thousands of paramilitary soldiers deployed to fight the rebels. Maoist rebels carried out two major attacks in Chhattisgarh in 2010. They ambushed a paramilitary patrol in April that year, killing 76 troops in their worst attack ever. A month later, they triggered a land mine under a bus carrying civilians and police, killing 31 people.
Maoist rebel attack in central India kill 24 and injure 37 .
Militants ambushed members of the Congress Party in Chhattisgarh .
About 200 rebels blew up convoy car and shot politicians and supporters .
By . Sara Malm . PUBLISHED: . 20:01 EST, 26 May 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 20:02 EST, 26 May 2013 . Hundreds of Maoist rebels attacked a convoy of leading Indian politicians, killing 24 people on Saturday. Militants ambushed members of the Congress Party as they returned from a campaign event in Chhattisgarh, central India, planting landmines and shooting party leaders and supporters. Four state party leaders and eight police officers were among the victims of the attack, which also saw 37 people injured. Attack: Indian medical staff take an injured victim into the Ram Krishna Hospital in Raipur after an ambush on a convoy of Congress Party leaders by Maioist rebels . Today, Indian officials reacted with outrage at the attack, which was carried out in Chhattisgarh’s tribal community as an apparent warning to officials to stay away from the Maoist rebel stronghold. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and party President Sonia Gandhi visited some of the injured in a hospital Sunday in the Chhattisgarh state capital Raipur, promising the government would take firm action against the perpetrators. ‘We are devastated,’ said Gandhi, who denounced the ‘dastardly attack’ as a on the country's democratic values. Rajnath Singh, president of the opposition Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, said the country should unite in its fight against the Maoist insurgency, known as Naxalites. The convoy was attacked in a densely forested area about 215 miles south of Raipur as the Congress members were returning from a party rally. Grief: Relatives of victims of the attack, which killed 24 people and injured 37, cry outside the hospital in Raipur . Uprising: According to police officers, 11 of the 37 injured are still in a critical condition following the ambush in a forest in the central Indian state . Damage done: A man in blood-covered trousers is treated for his injuries in the attack which saw about 200 suspected Maoist rebels set off a land mine and open fire on the convoy . Solidarity: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, second from left, and chairperson of the National Advisory Council, Sonia Gandhi, fourth from left, meet an injured person at a Raipur hospital on Sunday . About 200 attackers blocked the road . by felling trees, forcing the convoy to halt. Police officer R.K. Vij . said the suspected rebels triggered a land mine that blew up one of the . cars. The attackers then fired at the Congress party leaders and their . supporters before fleeing. Congress . is the main opposition party in the state. It has stepped up political . activities, trying to win the support of tribals, ahead of state . elections scheduled to be held by December. Police officer Vij said 11 of the 37 injured were in serious condition. Police . identified one of those dead as Mahendra Karma, a Congress party leader . in Chhattisgarh who founded a local militia to combat the Maoist . rebels. The anti-rebel militia had to be reined in after it was accused . of atrocities against people of lower castes, known as ‘tribals’. Planned ambush: Wreckage of a vehicle lying in the dense forest area at the incident site after the Maoists attack . Destruction: A man stands next to a crater caused by a land mine blast in the rebel attack on Saturday . Fatal: Indian security personnel carry the body of one of the victims of Saturday's rebel ambush in Bastar, 215 miles south of Raipur in Chhattisgarh state . The dead also included state Congress party chief Nand Kumar Patel and his son. K.P.S. Gill, a former police chief of Punjab state who has written widely on . reform, said the attack was ‘a very horrifying incident.’ However, Gill said the state government was incapable of devising a strategy to tackle the Maoist threat. ‘They don't have the political will and bureaucratic and police set-up to prevent such attacks,’ he said. He said the state government had ignored the need for special forces to tackle the threat. ‘Most of the special forces in the state are being used for non-operational duties like guarding state politicians,’ he said. Protest: Congress Party supporters burn an effigy of Dr.Raman Singh, the chief minister of the Indian state of Chhattisgarh during a demonstration against the attack . Prime Minister Singh has called the rebels India's biggest internal security threat. They are now present in 20 of India's 28 states and have thousands of fighters, according to the Home Ministry. The Naxalites  have been fighting the central government for more than four decades, demanding land and jobs for tenant farmers and the poor. They take their name from the West Bengal village of Naxalbari where the movement began in 1967. The fighters were inspired by Chinese Communist revolutionary leader Mao Zedong and have drawn support from displaced tribal populations opposed to corporate exploitation and official corruption. The government has offered to begin peace talks with the rebels, but without success. The Maoists demand that it first withdraw thousands of paramilitary soldiers deployed to fight the rebels. Maoist rebels carried out two major attacks in Chhattisgarh in 2010. They ambushed a paramilitary patrol in April that year, killing 76 troops in their worst attack ever. A month later, they triggered a land mine under a bus carrying civilians and police, killing 31 people.
Hundreds of Maoist rebels attacked a convoy of Saturday. Militants ambushed members of the event in Chhattisgarh, central India, planting the rebel attack on Saturday . Fatal: Indian politicians,’ he said. Protest: Congress Party