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12 killed in fighting between police and rebels in India

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-04-11 11:21

NEW DELHI -- Twelve people were killed in a fight between Indian police force and left-wing rebels Friday in the central state of Chhattisgarh, said police.

Among the killed were nine policemen, including an officer, and three rebels of the Naxalite radical left-wing rebellion, according to police.

The fighting took place in Chhattisgarh's restive Bastar region, when 100 rebels armed with AK-47 assault rifles ambushed a police patrol, said police.

The rebel groups engaging government forces in central and eastern Indian states have recently stepped up attacks against government troops and civilians, as India is running up for its general elections beginning April 16.

Ten people were killed in three bombings staged by the anti-government United Liberation Front in Asom active in the northeast state of Assam on Monday.

One paramilitary trooper was killed and 15 others injured in an attack by a tribal rebel group upon a passenger train, also in Assam, on Friday.