India: Officer killed, 9 injured in IED explosion

NEW DELHI, India

A senior officer of the paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) was killed and nine wounded when an improvised explosive device (IED) was detonated in Chhattisgarh state late Saturday, according to officials.

A CRPF statement said troops, along with local police, were carrying out special operations against Maoists in Chintagufa, Sukma in Chhattisgarh when the IED blast occurred.

"Total 10 personnel got injured in the blast out of which 8 injured personnel were heli lifted to Raipur in the midnight for further treatment. Two injured are getting treatment at CRPF Hospital, Chintalnar," the force said on Twitter.

It said the force's Assistant Commandant Nitin P. Balerao was among those who died.

"We salute the valour & steadfast devotion to duty of Shri Nitin Purushottam Bhalerao, Assistant Commandant of #206Bn @CoBRASECTORHQ who made the supreme sacrifice while valiantly fighting the Maoists in Sukma, Chhattisgarh. We stand with the family of our Braveheart," it added.

Maoist rebels have been fighting for more than three decades in eastern and central India for what they describe as the rights of tribal people in the region.

NEW DELHI, India

A CRPF statement said troops, along with local police, were carrying out special operations against Maoists in Chintagufa, Sukma in Chhattisgarh when the IED blast occurred.

It said the force's Assistant Commandant Nitin P. Balerao was among those who died.

Maoist rebels have been fighting for more than three decades in eastern and central India for what they describe as the rights of tribal people in the region.