NEW DELHI – At least 22 members of Indian security forces were gunned downin a central Indian state by Maoist fighters, officials said on Sunday.

Security personnel belonging to the Central Reserve Police Force’s eliteCoBRA unit, the District Reserve Guard, and the Special Task Force wereattacked on Saturday in the tribal-dominated Chhattisgarh state during ananti-insurgency operation, Indian media reported.

“We can confirm that 22 of Indian force members have been killed by Maoistfighters,” said a senior government official in Raipur. They were killed infiring that lasted for four hours in the border district of Sukma, 540 kms(340 miles) south of Raipur, the official said.

The death toll was the heaviest for Indian security forces battling thefar-left guerrillas since 2017.

Home Minister Amit Shah said the government will not tolerate suchbloodshed and “a befitting response will be given to prevent such attacks.”

The Maoists, also known as Naxals, have waged an armed insurgency againstthe government for decades. Leaders of the hardline leftist militant groupsay they are fighting on behalf of the poorest, who have not benefited froma long economic boom in Asia’s third-largest economy.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter and wrote, “My thoughts arewith the families of those martyred while fighting Maoists in Chhattisgarh.The sacrifices of the brave martyrs will never be forgotten. May theinjured recover at the earliest.”