Indian security forces kill five Maoists

Indian security forces shot dead five Maoist insurgents Tuesday, police said, the latest clash in a decades-long conflict.

Gun battles took place in the central state of Chhattisgarh, where the insurgents, known as Naxalites, have been carrying out guerrilla attacks since 1967.

India has deployed tens of thousands of security personnel to battle the Maoist rebels across the insurgent-dominated “Red Corridor”, which stretches across central, southern and eastern states. Officers launched an attack on a hideout of the rebels in the dense Kohkameta forest of the Narayanpur district, senior police officer P. Sunderraj told AFP.