Maoists kill 73 CRPF personnel in Chhattisgarh

At least 73 CRPF and district force personnel have been killed when a large group of Naxals ambushed them in the thick Mukrana forests of Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district on Tuesday.

The dead included 72 CRPF men including a deputy and an assitant commandant, and a head constable of the district police force.

The CRPF party was taken aback by the sudden attack by the Maoists, who surfaced on a hillock firing indiscriminately and setting off Improvised Explosive Devices (IED).

The incident took place near Chintalnar-Tarmetla village in the district. The CRPF team had been camping in interiors of Tarmetla jungles for the last three days as part of a combing operation.