At least 11 security personnel are learnt to have been injured in an IED blast triggered by Maoists in Seraikela district of Jharkhand in the early hours of Tuesday.
Quoting the police, media reports said security personnel were on Long Range Patrolling (LRP) duty when their vehicle was hit by the IED blast that took place around 5 am. A joint team of Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA), the special jungle warfare unit of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), and the state police was carrying out an operation in the forests of Kuchai area Seraikela district.
The improvised explosive device (IED) was reportedly buried under the dirt track. After detonating the IED, the Maoist guerrillas also started firing, said the police, adding that the security personnel retaliated the firing.
According to reports, eight jawans of CoBRA and three personnel from the district police were injured in the IED blast. They were airlifted to Ranchi for treatment.
Officials said the joint team was led by the 209th battalion of CoBRA deployed in Jharkhand for anti-Naxal operations.
More details are awaited.
On Monday, the security forces in Jammu and Kashmir foiled a major mishap by defusing an IED that was planted by terrorists on the vital Jammu-Poonch highway to target Army convoys moving towards areas along the Line of Control (LoC).
(With agency inputs)