Eight policemen, driver killed in Maoist bomb attack in India

BHUBANESWAR: At least eight policemen and a driver were killed in a bomb blast set off by Maoist rebels in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh, police said on Monday.

The police vehicle in which the victims were travelling was hit by a blast in the Bijapur district of the state on Monday, a police statement said.

This is the latest in a series of sporadic attacks on security forces in the state. It follows frequent gunbattles between the forces and the rebels in which several rebels have been killed in recent months.

Chhattisgarh and its neighbouring states in central and eastern India have been affected by a decades-long insurgency by Maoist rebels, although the areas they operate in have reduced significantly over the years.

The rebels subscribe to a form of communism propagated by late Chinese leader Mao Zedong, and have waged a guerrilla-style offensive against the government, leading to periodic clashes and casualties on both sides.

Maoists say they are fighting to give poor Indian farmers and landless labourers more control over their land and a greater claim to its minerals currently exploited by major mining companies.

Last Year, a gunfight left two Indian soldiers dead, and two others injured in Kashmir, days before local elections in the disputed Himalayan region.

Indian-held Kashmir has seen a rise in clashes between freedom fighters and security forces ahead of the first local assembly polls in the region for a decade.

Rebels have fought Indian forces for decades, demanding independence or a merger with Pakistan.

About 500,000 Indian troops are deployed in the region, battling a 35-year insurgency that has killed tens of thousands of civilians, soldiers and fighters since 1989.