Raipur, July 19: At least seven naxals have been gunned down during an ongoing encounter in a forest area along the border of Bijapur and Dantewada districts in Chhattigsarh on Thursday. The encounter broke out at around 6 am when a joint team of District Reserve Guard (DRG) and Special Task Force (STF) launched an operation in the insurgency-hit area.

Naxals reportedly fired at security forces in the forest near Timinar and Pusnar villages along the border of Bijapur and Dantewada districts. In retaliatory fire, security forces managed to kill seven naxals. They also receoved two Insas rifles, two .303 rifles, one 12 bore gun and a few muzzle loading guns were also recovered from the encounter site.

"After guns fell silent, bodies of seven naxals, including three women, were recovered from the spot," Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police (anti-naxal operations) Sundarraj P told TOI. Further details are awaited as the fierce gunbattle was still underway.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 19, 2018 09:43 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).