May 1, 2019, 7:25 PM IST
Fifteen security personnel, including a woman and one private driver, were killed in an IED blast in the naxal-affected Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra on Wednesday.
The naxals triggered the landmine blast when a vehicle that was carrying 16 quick response team commandos passed over it.
The attack took place on the Kurkheda-Korchi road in Gadchiroli. The police and naxals were engaged in firing at the site.
Earlier on Wednesday morning, the naxals had set 27 machines and vehicles at a road construction site in Kurkheda on fire.
This is reportedly the biggest attack on the security forces in the past two years in Maharashtra. On April 11, during the first phase of the Lok Sabha election, a CRPF jawan was injured in an IED blast in Gadchiroli.
Wednesday's incident took place when Maharashtra was preparing for its foundation day. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has condemned the attack and said on twitter that the red terrorists will not be spared.