NEW DELHI: At least 12 Naxals were killed in an ongoing encounter operation in the Southern Bastar area in Chattisgarh on Thursday.
Hours earlier, two jawans were injured in an improvised explosive device blast in the state’s Bijapur district.
Chhattisgarh Deputy CM Vijay Sharma said Naxals have planted Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) everywhere and termed the Bijapur Naxal attack as a cowardly act.
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On the IED blast in Bijapur, Sharma told new agency ANI: “This is a cowardly act of Naxals. They have planted IEDs everywhere. Security personnel, civilians and animals are also dying in this. Yesterday, two security personnel were hit by an improvised explosive device…Both have been admitted to the hospital and both are safe…”
The blast comes amid intensified anti-Naxal operations by security forces in Bijapur.
On January 12, five Naxalites, including two women, were killed in an encounter with security forces in Bijapur.
Eight security personnel and a vehicle driver were killed in a major IED blast triggered by Maoists in a police vehicle in Bijapur district of Bastar division on January 6.
Expressing condolences over the death of the jawans, Union Home Minister Amit Shah promised to end Naxalism in India by March 2026 and said “the sacrifice of our soldiers will not be in vain”.