About 3,000 officers are involved in the operation in Chhattisgarh, a stronghold of the armed insurgency.

At least 12 Maoist rebels killed by Indian security forces as New Delhi steps up crackdown long term rebellion.

The operation broke out on Thursday in forested areas of Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district, known as the heartland of the insurgency, police said on Friday.

“We have received information that 12 Maoists were killed in clashes with security forces,” senior police officer Sundarraj P told AFP. India’s Hindustan Times news outlet put the death toll at 17, adding that since At least 3,000 police officers have been involved in the operation since Wednesday night.

Last week, police in Chhattisgarh state’s Sukma district also killed at least three Maoist rebels, including an explosives expert suspected of killing several security personnel, The Indian Express reported.

Last year, Indian Home Minister Amit Shah said the government expected to suppress the insurgency by 2026.

A crackdown by security forces has killed more than 200 rebels in the past year, the vast majority in Chhattisgarh state, according to government data.

More than 10,000 people have been killed in the decades-long rebellion, in which rebels say they are fighting for the rights of marginalized indigenous peoples.

The conflict has seen a number of deadly attacks against government forces over the years.

Earlier this month, a roadside bomb killed At least nine Indian security forces. A week later, Indian troops killed at least five militants and another bomb blast injured two policemen.

In 2021, 22 police and paramilitary personnel were killed in gun battles with far-left insurgents.

In 2019, at least 16 commandos were also killed in a bomb attack in the western state of Maharashtra ahead of national elections that was blamed on the Maoists.