Naxals used under-barrel grenade launchers
Police sources said 99 CRPF jawans had been divided into two groups.
Bhopal/New Delhi: Around 300 Maoists, armed with sophisticated weapons, on Monday mounted a deadly attack on a CRPF patrol party guarding road workers in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma district, leaving 25 jawans dead and a dozen others wounded.
Police sources said 99 CRPF jawans had been divided into two groups. The first group leading the area domination operation suffered the maximum casualties. The second group walked into the ambush when it tried to come to the rescue of those trapped.
“We had left our camp at Burkapal in the morning. We noticed some villagers were tracking us all through the route. Later, around 300-350 Maoists, including women cadres, attacked us from all sides. We soon regro-uped and returned the fire,” injured CRPF constable S.K. Mohm-mad said.
“The guerrillas were armed with sophisticated weapons such as AK 47, SLR and Insas assault rifles,” he said.
Police sources said that the Naxals even used under-barrel gren-ade launchers, looted from security forces.