Leftist rebels known as Naxals launched a series of devastating attacks on Tuesday against paramilitary forces patrolling the forests of the eastern part of India, killing at least 75 troops in the deadliest strike against the government in the 43-year insurgency.
The attack, which came amid a major Indian offensive aimed at crushing the rebels, fueled concerns that the government is sending poorly trained forces to the front lines to battle the insurgency.
The dead included a deputy and an assistant commandant, as well as a head constable of the district police force, The Statesman newspaper reported.
Indian Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram, the nation's top law enforcement official, said the attacks showed "the brutality and the savagery" of the rebels.
"Something has gone drastically wrong," Chidambaram said. "They seem to have walked into a camp or a trap."
At least 82 troops were in a patrol party that had spent three or four days scouring forests in the rebel stronghold of Dantewada, in Chhattisgarh state, said R.K. Vij, the inspector general of state police.
Early on Tuesday, rebels ambushed some of the troops, killing at least three of them, he said. Another 17 troops who went to recover the bodies were killed when a land mine blew up their vehicle, Vij said.
The bodies of 75 paramilitary troops were recovered by Tuesday afternoon in the remote and heavily forested area, Vij said.
Seven troops were also wounded, three of them critically. The government found no rebel bodies, he said.
The rebels are named after Naxalbari, the village in West Bengal state where their movement was born in 1967. In February, they killed 24 police officers in West Bengal in a stunning attack on their camp.
Questions:
1. What is the name of the rebels?
2. How many troops died?
3. What year was the rebels’ movement born?
Answers:
1. Naxals.
2. 75.
3. 1967.
(中国日报网英语点津 Helen 编辑)
About the broadcaster:
Lee Hannon is Chief Editor at China Daily with 15-years experience in print and broadcast journalism. Born in England, Lee has traveled extensively around the world as a journalist including four years as a senior editor in Los Angeles. He now lives in Beijing and is happy to move to China and join the China Daily team.