Roundup: Extreme leftwing rebels kill 5 men of police, security forces in India

India's extreme leftwing rebels Monday killed five men of police and security forces in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh, two days after killing seven policemen in the same state.

The naxalite rebels launched an audacious attack on a paramilitary Border Security Force camp in Kanker district of the state in the morning, in which a trooper was killed.

Just hours later, four policemen out on an area domination drive were killed when the rebels exploded a landmine in Dantewada, a remote forested area notorious for the rebel activities.

The attacks took place in Bastar region of the state which is made up of seven districts covering over 40,000 sq kms, where the rebels run a de facto government in the forested interiors inhabited by extremely poor tribal people.

Officials said that a few insurgents tried to sneak into a police camp in the Chhotebetiya forests in Kanker district's Pakhanjoor area, leading to a gun fight, R.K. Vij, the state's head of anti-rebel operations, told the media.

At least one rebel also died at the attack site and three improvised explosive devices of 20 kg each were recovered during the combing operation near the camp, he said.

A few hours later, four policemen were killed and seven injured when the rebels triggered a massive explosion in Dantewada district, when the policemen were returning to the Cholnar camp a patrol mission.

On Saturday, seven policemen of the Special Task Force were gunned down and 12 injured in Sukma district in a gun fight with the rebels.

The naxalite rebels are numbered at around 10,000 and active in about 10 states in central and eastern India, mostly in poor rural areas. Endi