Three women killed in central India blast

A six-month-old girl was also injured in the blast triggered by improvised explosive device in the restive Chattisgarh

NEW DELHI, INDIA: At least three women were killed and five others injured in an explosion in the remote forests of conflict-torn central India, police said on Thursday.

A 14-year-old girl was among the dead in the blast triggered by an improvised explosive device (IED) which exploded after a group of women collecting herbs accidentally stepped on the device in restive Chhattisgarh state.

"Two women died on the spot and one died in the hospital. Five more are injured in the blast," Abhishek Meena, police chief of Narayanpur district, told AFP. One of the injured was a six month-old girl, he said.



The officer said they were yet to ascertain whether the explosive was meant to target the security forces in the area, which is one of the strongholds of Maoist rebels.

The rebels are often accused of planting IED's to target the troops patrolling the vast swathes of the resource-rich region. Thousands of armed Maoists inspired by Chinese revolutionary leader Mao Zedong are fighting the Indian government for land, jobs and other rights for poor tribal groups, with thousands of lives lost in the the decades-old insurgency.