Indian Maoists Kill 15 Policemen in Landmine Blast

Indian Maoists killed 15 policemen on Tuesday in a landmine blast in the center of the country, local reports said, marking the deadliest attack by the left-wing rebels since June 2010.

The attack, which occurred in the east of Maharashtra state, is the latest incident in the low-intensity conflict that pits the insurgents against local and national authorities in the forests and rural areas of central and eastern India.

The Press Trust of India, citing unnamed officials, said the paramilitary policemen were travelling by bus when the blast went off killing them immediately.

"An incident has taken place but we are still gathering information on the number of dead or injured," a police official told Agence France Presse from the control room in Gadchiroli district, near to where the blast reportedly happened.

The attack comes in the same month that Maoists took two Italians and a local Indian lawmaker hostage in two separate incidents in the eastern state of Orissa, one of several Indian states where Maoists control much of the countryside.

One of the Italians was released on Sunday, and the following day Indian government officials resumed talks with representatives of the rebels, who had issued a series of demands for the Italians' release.

The guerrillas, who say they are fighting for the rights of tribal people and landless farmers, have a powerful influence over large areas of central and eastern India, collecting funds through extortion and protection rackets.

In January, a similar landmine attack by the rebels in eastern India killed at least 12 policemen and injured three others who were trapped by the Maoists in their vehicle in a forested area of Jharkhand state, according to authorities.