Indian forces kill eight Maoists

NEW DELHI: Security forces killed eight suspected Maoist militants, including five women, in a raid on a rebel training camp in central India on Tuesday, police said, breaking a six-month-long lull in violence linked to an insurgency that has raged for years.

Operating across a vast swath of eastern and central India, the guerrillas say they are fighting for the rights of peasants and landless.

Police raided the camp in the forests of Sukna, 250 miles from Raipur, the state capital of Chhattisgarh. The guerrillas opened fire and eight of them were killed in the ensuing two-hour gunbattle, police officer Santosh Singh told Reuters.

A rebel leader with a 500,000 rupee ($7,300) bounty on his head was among those killed. The militant leader was wanted for planting explosive devices in schools and government buildings, police said.

There were no police casualties. Over 500 policemen have been killed in the last five years in guerrilla attacks, government data shows.