At least ten security personnel were killed and several others were injured in a landmine explosion triggered by the Maoists near Matriamba village in Gobindapalli ghat in south Orissa’s Koraput district on Sunday.
The vehicle that was carrying the jawans of the Special Operation Group (SOG) was blown up in the landmine blast triggered by the outlawed leftwing ultras, about 15 km from Baipariguda, the block headquarter town of the district.
The impact of the blast was so severe that the damaged vehicle fell about 20 metres below the ghat with the body parts of the security personnel dismembred and scattered in the area.
Three of the injured jawans were admitted in the hospital at Jeypore, while others were treated in the nearby hospitals. The condition of two of them is stated to be serious.
Additional security personnel were rushed to the district after the incident, while a high alert was sounded in the adjoining districts of the south Orissa including Malkanagiri, Rayagada, Gajapati, Ganjam, and Kandhamal.
The ghastly attack has taken place at a time when the Orissa government is gearing for Operation Green Hunt to flush out the Red rebels. The attack also coincided with the visit of the Union home minister P Chidambaram to the Maoist infested Lalgarh in West bengal to take stock of the anti-Naxal operations there.
Sources said the explosion took place when the jawans were on their way to start the anti-Naxal operations and were cleaning the road blockade caused due to the felling of trees by the ultras.
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The landmine blast is believed to have been trigerred by the Maoists to seal the road between Jeypore and Malkanagiri.
A brief exchange of fire also took place between the security personnel and the ultras near the blast site, sources added.