New Delhi, March 13: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday saluted the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel, who were killed in a powerful improvised explosive device (IED) blast in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district.

Nine personnel of the 212 Battalion of the CRPF were killed and one is severely injured in the IED blast, allegedly carried out by Maoists in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district earlier today.

Prime Minister Modi took to Twitter and said "India salutes the brave @crpfindia personnel who were martyred in the attack in Sukma, Chhattisgarh. My thoughts are with the families and friends of the brave martyrs. The nation stands shoulder to shoulder with them in this hour of grief". (sic)

Earlier in the day, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh also expressed grief over the death of CRPF personnel while Congress president Rahul Gandhi termed the attack "tragic" and blamed "flawed policies" of the government for the incident.

The incident took place when CRPF jawans were conducting an operation in a forest in the district when the blast took place, ripping apart their mine-protected vehicle (MPV).