At least 26 suspected Maoists and a district reserve guard (DRG) soldier were killed in an encounter on Thursday in Bijapur district, Chhattisgarh, India, local news reports said.
The gunfight broke out at 7 a.m. near the Bijapur-Dantewada border during an anti-Naxalite operation. Police recovered 26 Maoist bodies along with firearms and explosives, and a search is ongoing.
A second encounter in Kanker district resulted in the deaths of four more suspected Maoists, with an automatic rifle recovered.
This marks the latest in a series of clashes this year, with 81 Maoists killed in separate encounters in Chhattisgarh, including 31 killed earlier this month in Bijapur. Authorities are investigating the identity of the Maoists involved, with several previously identified as key figures in the banned CPI (Maoist) group.
