Suspected Maoist insurgents ambushed and killed five security personnel in an eastern India rebel stronghold on Sunday, police said. The suspected rebels struck while the security personnel were searching for insurgents in a forested area in Canker district of Chhattisgarh state, about 625 miles (1,000 kilometers) southeast of New Delhi, said Vishwaranjan, the state police chief. The officer uses only one name. Three paramilitary soldiers and two police officers were killed, and the attackers fled, Vishwaranjan told The Associated Press. The rebels are now present in 20 of India's 28 states and have an estimated 10,000 to 20,000 fighters, according to the Home Ministry.
