Twelve persons, including 10 personnel of Mizoram police, were killed on Thursday when a jeep carrying them drove over a landmine planted by Maoists in Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh, police said.
"All the 12 persons were killed on the spot when the Maoists triggered landmine blast targeting their jeep near Murliguda, about 505 km from the state capital," Dantewada police sources told PTI by phone.
Among the killed are eight constables and two head constables of Mizoram police, deployed in anti-Naxal operation, the driver of the jeep and a teenager who was also in the vehicle when it was ambushed, they said.
Dantewada police said the incident took place when the personnel were returning to their base camp area in Bonda. The vehicle was badly damaged in the explosion, they said.
Additional forces have been rushed to the spot to apprehend the Maoists responsible for the incident, they said.
Chief Minister Dr Raman Singh condemned the incident. "It was a cowardly and condemnable act by Maoists," he said.