Bijapur: In a major operation against Maoists, security personnel gunned down 30 members of the banned outfit in two separate encounters in neighbouring Chhattisgarh.

In the forests near the Bijapur-Dantewada border, under the Gangaloor Police limits, 26 Maoists were killed during an exchange of fire. The bodies were recovered during search operations.

The operation was carried out by a joint team comprising the District Reserve Guard (DRG), Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) 210, and the Special Task Force (STF).

In a separate encounter in Kanker district, security forces neutralised four Maoists.

Per Bastar Inspector General P. Sundarraj said, along with the 30 Maoist bodies, a large cache of firearms including a large number of AK-47 rifles as well as automatic and semi-automatic weapons were recovered during the search operations.

The official added one personnel of DRG was martyred during the operation.