// Shamsul
Basunia//
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."
Prime
Minister Narendra Modi sent his condolences to the families of the soldiers and
expressed his anger in a series of tweets following the raid.
