The explosion of a Naxalite-triggered IED in Chhattisgarh killed at least eight members of the security forces and their driver in the Kutru jungle on Monday, January 6, in the Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh. The charge had been placed on the Kutru-Bedre road and was triggered as the paramilitaries were returning from an anti-Maoist operation in the Abujhmad area.
This operation, which began on Friday and Saturday, resulted in five suspected Maoists and a paramilitary from the District Reserve Guard (DRG) being killed. Half of the paramilitaries killed in Monday’s ambush belong to the DRG, the other to the Bastar Fighters, two security forces in Chhattisgarh mainly focused on fighting the Maoists.