Maoist Rebels Attack In India

Two hundred Maoist rebels are suspected of killing twenty-four people in India during an attack on May 25.

According to the AP, the attack appears to have been an ambush which targeted “Congress party politicians returning from a campaign event with the area’s indigenous tribal community.” 

The attack consisted of setting off a bomb and opening fire on a “convoy carrying ruling party members.”

Four state party leaders and eight police officers were among the 24 reportedly killed. In addition to these, another 37 persons were injured.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and party President Sonia Ghandi have both denounced the attacks. They have also visited “some of the 37 people who were injured.”

Ghandi said she was “devastated” by the attack, which she described as “dastardly.” 

One of those killed was Mahendra Karma, “a Congress party leader in Chhattisgarh who founded a local militia, the Salwa Judum, to combat the Maoist rebels.”