
IED blast: At least two commandos of CRPF's CoBRA unit were injured on Thursday in an IED blast carried out by Naxalites near Putkel village under Basaguda police station area in Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh, said police. A senior police official said that the incident occurred in the wee hours in the Basaguda police station area when a joint team of security forces was out on an area domination operation.
CRPF commandos out of danger
Personnel from the 229th battalion of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and the elite 206th battalion of CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action) were engaged in the operation when two personnel were injured after inadvertently triggering a pressure IED, an official stated.
The injured constables, Mridul Barman and Mohd Ishaq of the CoBRA 206th battalion, were initially treated at the Basaguda CRPF camp and are reported to be out of danger. They have since been referred to a hospital in Raipur for further medical care.
Maoists often plant IEDs along the road and dirt tracks in forests to target security personnel during patrolling in the interior pockets of Bastar region, which comprises seven districts including Bijapur. Civilians have also fallen prey to such traps laid by ultras in the past in the region.
Eight jawans among 9 killed in Naxals attack
In their deadliest strike on security forces in Chhattisgarh in two years, Naxals blew up a vehicle using a 60-70 kg strong IED near Ambeli village under the Kutru police station area at around 2.15 pm on January 6. Eight security personnel, four each from District Reserve Guard (DRG) and Bastar Fighters- both units of state police- who were travelling in the SUV and the driver were killed on the spot, located around 70 km from the Bijapur district headquarters, the official said.
Police suspect the powerful IED was planted a long time back along the route used by security personnel.
Inspector General of Police (Bastar Range) Sundarraj P said that the explosive device went off when DRG personnel from Dantewada district were returning in their Scorpio vehicle after conducting an anti-Naxalite operation.
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