Raipur:
Maoists today blew up a police vehicle in a landmine blast and ambushed BSF personnel killing five securitymen and injuring six others in two separate attacks in Dantewada and Kanker districts of Chhattisgarh.
"Ultras blew up a Bolero (SUV) in a landmine blast near Kirandul, 6 km from Raipur, in Dantewada district this evening. Three policemen were killed and an equal number were injured," ADG (Naxal operation) Ramnivas told PTI. One policeman was reported missing.
Additional police forces have been rushed to the spot after the blast and search operation started in the area, he added.
Earlier in the day, two BSF jawans were killed and three injured in the Naxal ambush in Kanker district.
Superintendent of Police Kanker Rahul Bhagat told PTI on phone that a joint patrolling team of the BSF and the district police from Koylibeda, was ambushed near Sulangi village by around 150 Naxals in which two BSF jawans -- a head constable and a constable -- were killed on the spot while three others, including a special police officer, were injured.
One Naxal, suspected to be a commander-level officer as he was wearing a cap with insignia, was killed in the retaliatory fire by the jawans, the SP said, adding that the security personnel had recovered a .303 rifle and two Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) from the spot of the incident.
The district police chief also said the security personnel had claimed that the ultras dragged to safety around ten of their comrades hit by police bullets.
Bhagat also said additional police force had been rushed to the spot and the injured are being shifted to hospital.