Security personnel were attacked on Saturday in the Chhattisgarh state during an anti-insurgency operation, Indian officials said.

The soldiers were killed in a clash that lasted for four hours in the border district of Sukma, 540km south of Raipur, the capital of mineral-rich Chhattisgarh.

The battle between the Indian government and Maoist groups, known as Naxalites or Naxals, started after the 2004 formation of the CPI-Maoists – a rebel group consisting of the PWG (People's War Group) and the MCC (Maoist Communist Centre).

The ongoing conflict had taken place over a vast territory (around half of India's 28 states) with hundreds of people being killed annually in clashes between the CPI-Maoists and the government every year since 2005. (ILKHA)