BSF head constable killed in Naxal attack in Chhattisgarh

Naxal insurgents have struck the state for the third time since Saturday

Naxals attacked a BSF team killing a jawan in Chhattisgarh's insurgency-hit Kanker district, striking for the third time since Saturday.

A group of ultras opened indiscriminate firing on security personnel who were carrying out patrolling in the proximity of Chhote Baithiya BSF camp under Bande police station area late last night, Kanker Superintendent of Police Jitendra Singh Meena told PTI.

A gunbattle erupted between security forces and ultras and the rebels soon fled to the core forests, he added.

"A BSF head constable succumbed to bullet injuries, sustained during the gunfight, while being taken to a local hospital," the SP said.

Soon after the incident, reinforcements were rushed to the spot, he said adding that a combing operation has been launched in the region to nab the assailants.

Seven STF personnel were killed and ten others injured on Saturday when Naxals ambushed them in the forests of restive Pidmel village under Polampalli, around 450 kms from state capital Raipur.

Naxals yesterday allegedly set ablaze at least 17 vehicles engaged in mining work in Kanker district, 140 km from here. However, no one was hurt.