Maoist rebels have killed seven policemen and injured 10 others in an ambush in dense jungle in central India, police say.
A squad of 61 policemen from a special task force formed to combat Maoists was on an exercise in the forests of Sukma district in Chhattisgarh state on Saturday when the ambush occurred, officer RK Vij said by phone from the state capital Raipur.
Four of the injured were in critical condition. All of the wounded were airlifted to Raipur.
Additional paramilitary forces were rushed to the area, Vij said.
Chhattisgarh is among the Indian states worst affected by the Maoist insurgency, which has killed more than 6600 civilians, militants and security personnel countrywide since 2005, according to the South Asia Terrorism Portal.
The Maoists reject parliamentary democracy and say their armed rebellion is to secure the rights of the poor and marginalised.
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