Maoist rebels kill at least 10 security forces in attack on secucamp in eastern India

Maoist rebels kill 10 troops in eastern India

CALCUTTA, India — Maoist rebels detonated land mines at a security outpost in eastern India and set fire to the camp, killing at least 10 troops on Monday, a senior official said.

The rebels also stole weapons from the camp in Shilda village in the West Midnapore district of West Bengal state, according to Bhupinder Singh, a senior local police official. Few other details were immediately available from the remote area.

Shilda is about 105 miles (170 kilometers) southwest of state capital Calcutta.

Kishenji, a top Maoist leader in the area, claimed responsibility for the attack in a call to a local television station. He said it was in retaliation for a recent security crackdown against the rebels.

Inspired by Chinese revolutionary leader Mao Zedong, the rebels have been fighting for more than three decades demanding land and jobs for farmers and the poor. They are active the in more than 220 of India’s 600-plus districts across 20 states.

In the past few months, the Indian government has cracked down on the outlawed guerrillas saying it was ready to discuss all their demands only if they gave up violence.

About 2,000 people including police, militants and civilians have been killed in the violence over the past few years. The rebels are also known as Naxals or Naxalites, after Naxalbari, the village in West Bengal state where their movement was born in 1967.