NEW DELHI, March 4 (Xinhua) -- Four policemen were killed and two others, including a paramilitary trooper, were wounded Thursday in two separate improvised explosive device (IED) attacks triggered by Naxals in India.
The first attack was carried out inside the forest area near Chaibasa in West Singhbhum district, about 165 km south of Ranchi, the capital city of the eastern state of Jharkhand. Three policemen were killed and two others including a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) man were wounded.
Jharkhand Police Chief Niraj Sinha said the government forces personnel were on a routine patrol in the area.
"For the past several days Jharkhand Jaguar and CRPF are carrying out joint search operations in the area," he said.
Following the attack, reinforcements of police and paramilitary rushed to the area to take on Naxals there, officials said.
Meanwhile, in a separate similar attack, a policeman was killed in the Dantewada district of the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh.
Naxals are active across the eastern and central parts of India. India's former prime minister Manmohan Singh once termed the Naxalite movement as India's "greatest internal security challenge."
New Delhi has deployed several companies of paramilitary forces to take on Naxals in their strongholds.
The insurgency has reportedly claimed hundreds of lives besides rendering thousands of poor inhabitants homeless. Enditem