Maoist Guerrillas Kill Nine Indian Security Forces Members in Roadside Bomb Attack

Indian Maoist guerrillas, known as Naxalites, killed nine members of the security forces on Monday by detonating a roadside bomb in the central state of Chhattisgarh. The blast hurled their vehicle into the air, leaving a deep crater in the road, as shown in photographs published by Indian media.

The attack occurred while soldiers were returning from an anti-Maoist operation conducted earlier in the week, during which four rebels and a police officer were killed. According to Vivekanand Sinha, chief of the state police’s anti-Maoist operations, “Eight security forces and a driver were killed today when the vehicle in which they were travelling struck a landmine.”

The Maoist insurgency, which has lasted for decades, has claimed over 10,000 lives as the rebels, fighting for the rights of marginalized indigenous people in India’s resource-rich central regions, continue to target government forces. In 2024, the government reported the killing of 287 rebels and the arrest of around 1,000 suspected Naxalites, with 837 surrendering.

Amit Shah, India’s interior minister, had warned the Maoists in September to surrender or face an “all-out” assault. Following Monday’s deadly attack, Shah reaffirmed the government’s commitment, saying, “This sacrifice of our men won’t go to waste,” and vowed to wipe out Naxalism from India by March 2026.

The insurgency, which began in 1967 in the Naxalbari district, grew in strength throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, prompting New Delhi to deploy tens of thousands of security personnel in the “Red Corridor” region. Although the movement has been significantly weakened in recent years, efforts to suppress the rebels continue, with millions of dollars being invested in local infrastructure and social projects to reduce the appeal of the Naxalite ideology.

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