*NEW DELHI: *Maoist rebels killed eight Indian paramilitary troopers afterdetonating an explosive beneath their vehicle during a patrol in restiveChhattisgarh state, officials said Tuesday.
The blast in a remote forest region also injured three others who wereairlifted to state capital Raipur for treatment, a spokesperson for India’scentral reserve police force said.
Left-wing guerrillas have for decades been fighting the Indian state,demanding land, jobs and other rights for poor tribal groups in along-running insurgency believed to have cost tens of thousands of lives.
Much action is focused around the rebel-dominated “Red Corridor” stretchingthrough central and eastern India.
India’s home minister Rajnath Singh described Tuesday’s attack as “deeplydistressing” and wished those injured a speedy recovery.
The deadly bombing followed an earlier attack by Maoist rebels on a unit ofspecial police officers patrolling the forest.
Maoists are believed to be present in at least 20 states but are mostactive in Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Bihar, Jharkhand and Maharashtra.
Earlier this month at least 10 suspected rebels and one police officer werekilled in a firefight deep in Chhattisgarh when hundreds of commandosstaged a pre-dawn assault on a hideout.
Critics say government attempts to end the revolt through tough offensivesare doomed to fail and that the real solution is better governance anddevelopment of the region.