Bloody Battle

Indian security forces killed at least 31 Maoist rebels on Sunday in one of the deadliest clashes since the government ramped up efforts to crush the long-running insurgency.
Two Indian commandos were also killed in the battle, and two other security force members were wounded.

More than 10,000 people have been killed in the decades-long insurgency waged by the rebels, who say they are fighting for the rights of marginalized people in India's resource-rich central regions.

Police said they had seized assault rifles and grenade launchers from the bodies of the dead rebels.

The gunfight broke in the forested areas of Bijapur district in the state of Chhattisgarh, considered the heartland of the insurgency.

The rebels, also known as Naxalites after the district where their armed campaign began in 1967, were inspired by the Chinese revolutionary leader Mao Zedong.

The conflict has also seen scores of deadly attacks on government forces. A roadside bomb killed at least nine Indian troops last month.