NEW DELHI, May 15, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Indian security forces have killed 31 Maoist rebels during a three-week operation aimed at capturing strategic hills previously under the control of guerrillas, the government said.

India is waging an all-out offensive against the last vestiges of the Naxalite rebellion, named after the village in the foothills of the Himalayas where the Maoist-inspired guerrilla movement began nearly six decades ago.

More than 12,000 rebels, soldiers and civilians have died since a handful of villagers rose up against their feudal lords there in 1967.

At its peak in the mid-2000s, the rebellion controlled nearly a third of the country with an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 fighters.

The latest gun battle took place in the forested Karreguttalu Hills along the border of the states of Chhattisgarh and Telangana, home minister Amit Shah said in a post on X on Wednesday.

"Security forces have eliminated 31 notorious Naxalites in the largest operation against Naxalism to date," Shah said.

"The hill, once ruled by red terror, now proudly waves the tricolour," he said, referring to the Indian national flag.

Karreguttalu Hills used to be the unified headquarters of several Naxalite organisations where rebels were provided weapons and strategic training.

Shah reiterated that the government was committed to "eradicating Naxalism from its roots" by March 31 next year.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the latest operation, saying it showed that the campaign towards rooting out Naxalism was "moving in the right direction".

"We are fully committed to establishing peace in the Naxal-affected areas and connecting them with the mainstream of development," he said in a social media post.

A crackdown by Indian troops has killed more than 400 rebels since last year, according to government data.

Last month, Indian troops killed 11 Maoist rebels in the states of Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand.
 
Security forces also killed 30 Maoists in March and another 31 in February.