75 Indian police officers killed in rebel ambush

At least 75 police officers have been killed by Maoist rebels in central India in one of the worst attacks by rebels in years.

The police officers were killed in an ambush by more than 700 Maoist fighters in Chattisgarh state on Tuesday.

Police said the Maoist rebels, who control several areas rich in mineral resources, had retreated into the forest in the Dantewada district of the Bastar region, home to government-owned iron ore miner NMDC Ltd, the largest in India.

"This is a big disaster and it shows the paramilitary forces are obviously not trained to tackle the Maoists' rebellion and they don't seem to have enough intelligence," said retired Major General Ravi Arora, editor of Indian Military Review.

Tuesday's attack was similar to an ambush in February, when Maoists caught police off guard in a daylight attack in the state of West Bengal, killing at least two dozen police officers.

The Congress-led government has been accused of failing to deal with the rebels, and the security issue could be important in several state elections over the next two years.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=122601§ionid=351020402.