14 Naxals killed in 2 separate encounters with Security forces

More than 12 Naxalites were killed in separate encounters with the security forces in Chhattisgarh's Bastar region on Saturday, police said. More than 10 ultras were gunned down in Sukma, while two were eliminated in the adjoining Bijapur district in the early hours of the day, they said. An exchange of fire broke out in the forest of the southern region of Sukma district, where a team of security personnel was out on an anti-Naxalite operation, a senior police official said. "More than 10 cadres have been neutralised so far. The operation is still underway, and more details will be shared later," he said. In Bijapur, a gunfight took place in a forest in the southern region of the district when a team of the District Reserve Guard, a unit of the state police, was out on a similar operation around 5 am, another official said.

The bodies of two Naxalites were recovered from the scene, he said. The intermittent exchange of fire was still underway, and further details were awaited, the official said. As many as 285 Naxalites were gunned down in separate encounters with security forces in Chhattisgarh last year.