Fourteen communists were killed during a clash with security forces in India on Aug. 6.
The search was launched after security forces received intelligence about a large number of Maoists in the area.
Reinforcements were sent to the area to try to retrieve as many of the bodies as possible; typically, Maoists try to take away the bodies of their dead comrades as quickly as possible.
According to NDTV, all 15 bodies were recovered by security forces.
Maoists said in pamphlets circulated in the area that 247 Maoists have been killed during clashes with security forces over the past two years, not including Monday’s toll.
D. M. Awashti, the state’s Special Director General of Police, told reporters that the operation was one of the largest in the history of Chhattisgarh.
Teams included personnel from the District Reserve Guard, Special Task Force, Central Reserve Police Force and its elite unit Commando Battalion for Resolute Action, with one of the teams comprising of around 200 personnel.
“There were about 40 Maoists in the camp when the encounter started but some of them managed to flee.”
Vanjam Hunga, a commander for the Maoists, was one of the 15 killed; the others haven’t been identified as of yet.
Besides the deaths, security forces seized hundreds of firearms and explosives and arrested a Maoist who had a bounty on his head and a female Maoist.
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