12 Naxalites, 2 cops killed in encounter in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur

Bijapur (Chhattisgarh): Twelve Naxalites were killed in an encounter with security forces in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district on Sunday, police said.

Two security personnel were also killed and as many others injured in the face-off, they said.

The gunfight took place at a forest in Indravati National Park area in the morning when a joint team of personnel from different security forces was out on an anti-Naxalite operation, a senior police official said.

"As per preliminary information, 12 Naxalites were killed in the gunfight. Bodies of all of them have been recovered," he said.

Two security personnel, one belonging to the state police's District Reserve Guard and the other from the Special Task Force, were also killed in the gunfight and two others suffered injuries, the official said.

Efforts are on to retrieve bodies of the deceased security personnel and evacuate the injured jawans, he said.