Maoists kill 15 policemen in Maharashtra

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Suspected Maoist rebels killed 15 policemen at the weekend in Maharashtra, police said on Monday, in one of the biggest such attacks in the state.

The rebels fired upon a police team patrolling a forested area near the border of the insurgency-hit Chhattisgarh, Hemant Sanghe, a policeman on duty at the control room said.

The Indian Express newspaper said the rebels gouged out the eyes and severed the legs of a few injured policemen.

An investigation is underway and the state home minister has rushed to the area, the chief minister's office said.

The Sunday attack underlines the persistent threat authorities face from rebel activity ahead of national elections expected by May.

Maoist rebels say they are fighting for the rights of poor farmers and landless labourers in an insurgency Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has described as one of the gravest threats to India's internal security.

Thousands of people have been killed since the uprising began in the late 1960s.