Operation Sankalp: 22 Naxalites killed in encounter with security forces

IN CHHATTISGARH

- OUR CORRESPONDENT

BIJAPUR: Twenty-two Naxalites were killed in an encounter with security forces on Wednesday in the forests of Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district bordering Telangana during Operation Sankalp, a massive counter-insurgency initiative, a senior police official said.

The gunfight broke out in the morning in the Karregutta hills forest along the interstate border, he said.

"So far, bodies of 22 Naxalites have been recovered and a search operation was underway in the area," he said, adding that the identity of the slain cadres was yet to be established.

With the latest encounter, the toll of Naxalites gunned down under Operation Sankalp since April 21 has climbed to 26.