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| India-Pakistan |
| Suspected Maoists kill 10 policemen in eastern India |
| 2010-04-06 |
| [Dawn] At least 10 Indian policemen were killed on Sunday when their vehicle struck a land mine planted by suspected Maoist militants in the eastern state of Orissa, police said. The attack took place as Home Minister P. Chidambaram visited a militant stronghold in the neighbouring state of West Bengal where he reviewed the progress of the government's anti-Maoist offensive. "We are confirming 10 deaths but the toll might go up as the search for more bodies is on," senior police official Sanjeev Panda told AFP. The Maoists have stepped up attacks in response to the government offensive that began late last year to hunt down Maoists entrenched in the thick forests of the so-called "Red corridor" that stretches across north and eastern India. Chidambaram said "Operation Greenhunt" had weakened the extreme left-wing movement and he appealed to villagers not to give in to fear. The vehicle that was ripped apart in the blast was the first of three returning from a patrol and was carrying more than 20 men, Panda said. The Maoist insurgency began as a peasant uprising in 1967 and has now spread to 20 of India's 28 states. |
| Posted by:Fred |