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In a major Naxal attack, 27 Central Reserve Police Force personnel were on Tuesday shot dead and seven injured in an ambush in a remote area of Chhattisgarh's Narayanpur district.
Heavily-armed Maoists opened fire with automatic weapons from a hilltop when a 63-member security contingent was returning from road opening duty on foot, Union Home Secretary G K Pillai said in New Delhi.
The attack, which also left seven personnel including four special police officers of the Chhattisgarh Police injured, took place at Daurai Road area at around 3 pm.
It comes nearly three months after the worst April six Dantewada massacre by the Maoist which left 75 personnnel of the force and one Chhattisgarh policeman dead.
Pillai said security and medical reinforcements have been sent to the spot and all the bodies have been recovered.
The injured have been taken to a hospital by a helicopter, he said. Acccording to preliminary information, the condition of one of the SPOs is stated to be serious, officials said.
The troops were from the 39th battalion of the force and were a part of its 'E' and 'F' companies, CRPF Chief Vikram Srivastava said.
On May 8, eight men of the paramilitary force were killed when Naxals blew up a mine-proof vehicle also in Narayanpur district.
Image:KBK InfographicsÂ