MUMBAI (XINHUA) - At least 26 armed rebels belonging to the Maoist Naxal militant group waging an insurgency in India were killed by the police in the Korchi forest of Gadchiroli district, 1,012km from Mumbai, said a top police official late on Saturday (Nov 13).

"We have recovered the bodies of 26 Naxals so far from the forest," said Gadchiroli district's superintendent of police (SP) Ankit Goyal after the day-long gun battle, which started in the early hours of Saturday and continued till evening.

Four police personnel were also seriously injured in the action and were airlifted to Nagpur by a helicopter for treatment.

Gadchiroli district in India's western state of Maharashtra lies on the border of the Central state of Chhattisgarh.

"There was a camp of Naxals in the Gyarapatti-Kodagul forest of Korchi, on the basis of which the police conducted the search operations since Saturday morning," SP Goyal said.

The Naxalite rebels, who have presence in at least eight Indian states, claim that they fight for the rights of the poor and landless in the country and have been frequently targeting Indian security forces.

In 2019, these eight Indian states reported 670 cases of Naxal violence killing 150 civilians and 52 security personnel, while 145 armed rebels (Naxalites) were killed and 1,276 were arrested, media reports said, quoting government data.

Last year, 140 civilians and 43 security personnel were killed in 665 cases of Naxal violence.