New Delhi, India (CNN) At least 15 police personnel and one civilian were killed in a suspected Maoist insurgent attack in the west-central state of Maharashtra on Wednesday, according to Indian officials.

The men were traveling in convoy to provide reinforcement to a police post in the Gadchiroli district when a landmine detonated, killing all 16 men, including the driver.

Police have blamed the blast on Naxal militants known to be active in the region. In a press conference on Wednesday, the Director General of Police, Subodh Jaiswal said the insurgents "want to overthrow the state established by the constitution of India."

"We are very firm in our belief that they need to be dealt with the full power of the state behind us."

Militant attacks in several states, including Maharashtra, Odisha and Chhattisgarh, where the rebel movement still has traction, are common.

Read More</s>Suspected leftist insurgents killed at least 15 police and a civilian driver in a landmine attack on two security vehicles on Wednesday in the western state of Maharashtra, police said, as the state celebrated its foundation day.

India is holding elections and attacks by Maoist rebels, who are active in several states, often spike as the country goes to the polls.

The Maoist insurgents, known as Naxals, have battled the state for decades, saying they are fighting for people left out of a long economic boom in Asia's third-largest economy.

Security forces killed at least 37 Maoist militants last year in Gadchiroli, the same district where Wednesday's attack took place.</s>The men were traveling in convoy to provide reinforcement to a police post in the Gadchiroli district when a landmine detonated, killing all 16 men, including the driver.

Police have blamed the blast on Naxal militants known to be active in the region. In a press conference on Wednesday, the Director General of Police, Subodh Jaiswal said the insurgents "want to overthrow the state established by the constitution of India."

"We are very firm in our belief that they need to be dealt with the full power of the state behind us."

Militant attacks in several states, including Maharashtra, Odisha and Chhattisgarh, where the rebel movement still has traction, are common.

Indian Maoist -- or Naxalite -- groups have been active in the country since the 1960s, but the modern insurgency did not begin until the early 2000s with the emergence of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) and its armed wing, the People's Liberation Guerrilla Army. More than 2,100 civilians in India have been killed in the Maoist insurgency since 2010. Security forces in the region, wary of a possible second attack, are cautiously making their way to the blast site, said Jaiswal. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a statement on Twitter: "Strongly condemn the despicable attack ... I salute all the brave personnel. Their sacrifices will never be forgotten." Strongly condemn the despicable attack on our security personnel in Gadchiroli, Maharashtra. I salute all the brave personnel. Their sacrifices will never be forgotten. My thoughts & solidarity are with the bereaved families. The perpetrators of such violence will not be spared. — Chowkidar Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 1, 2019 Shortly after the attack Jaiswal reiterated the commitment of security forces in the region to the counterinsurgency operations. "Whether it is a retaliation or not is not of much consequence to us. What is important is that we lost 15 of our colleagues who have made the supreme sacrifice and for us that is a very grievous loss," he said. The issue of local militancy has haunted successive governments in India for decades. In April 2017, 25 police officers were killed and six others injured when hundreds of suspected Maoist rebels attacked a convoy in central India. Suspected Maoists have also struck during India's elections, which are currently ongoing. On April 18, a polling supervisor was gunned down by alleged Maoist militants in the eastern state of Odisha. The supervisor, Sanjukta Digal, was leading a team to a polling station in the Kandhamal district on the eve of the second phase of voting in the state. India's tribal peoples caught between Maoist rebels and the state In another incident in the same district, alleged Maoists approached a vehicle heading towards a polling center and forced officials to disembark before setting fire to it. According to India's Ministry of Home Affairs, 90 districts across 11 states are currently affected by some form of Naxal or Maoist militancy. In 2017, 75 security force members and 188 civilians were killed in militant violence. The government has responded to the Maoist insurgency with a security crackdown in areas in which the groups are active, an approach that has been criticized by some observers as heavy-handed and prone to abuse. A 2012 Human Rights Watch report cataloged incidents where police and soldiers "have arbitrarily arrested, detained, and tortured villagers, who are mostly from disaffected tribal communities."</s>Fifteen security personnel and their driver have been killed in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli after a powerful explosion, set off by Maoists, blew up their vehicle. An improvised explosive device (IED) blast was triggered on a police vehicle in the Maoist-affected district that borders Chhattisgarh.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi termed the attack "despicable" and said that the "perpetrators of such violence will not be spared".

The incident comes hours after Maoists torched 25 vehicles at a road construction site in Kurkheda of Gadchiroli district at around 3:30 am. They torched the vehicles, which were parked along the road, using kerosene and diesel, police officer Shailesh Balkawade.

Over two weeks ago, another IED blast was set off near a polling booth in Gadchiroli on April 11, during the first phase of the national election. No one was injured in the incident. A day before that, a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) trooper was critically injured in an IED blast in Gadchiroli.

Today's Maoist attack comes on a day when Maharashtra is celebrating its foundation day. The Maoists were in the final stages of observing a week-long protest to mark the first anniversary of 40 of their members who were gunned down by security forces on April 22 last year.

In April last year, security forces had carried out one of the biggest anti-Maoist operations in Maharashtra in which 40 Maoists were killed. The operation was planned by C-60 commandos of the Gadchiroli police based on specific intelligence about a meeting of top dalams or Maoist squads

Gadchiroli voted in the first phase of national election on April 11.

On April 9, five people including a BJP legislator and four security personnel were killed in a Maoist-triggered IED blast in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district.

Get the latest election news, live updates and election schedule for Lok Sabha Elections 2019 on ndtv.com/elections. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter and Instagram for updates from each of the 543 parliamentary seats for the 2019 Indian general elections. Election results will be out on May 23.</s>At least 15 security personnel and one civilian were killed Wednesday when Maoists triggered a landmine in Gadchiroli district on the day Maharashtra marked its foundation day. The attack took place around 12 hours after Maoists torched 36 vehicles of a road construction contractor nearby.

The Indian Express has learnt that the target was a Quick Response Team (QRT) from the Kurkheda police station sent to investigate the torching of the vehicles at a construction site on the National Highway in the area.

The 36 vehicles were set ablaze shortly after midnight and in the morning, the QRT team set out from Kurkheda in a private goods carrier and the landmine went off ahead of Dadapur. DIG Ankush Shinde denied the policemen were headed to the spot where the vehicles were torched. “They were going to the Purada police station,” he said.

Wednesday’s attack at Jambhukheda-Lendari village, which is 6 km from Kurkheda, the taluka headquarters, was the biggest after the March 2012 landmine blast in the district in which 15 CRPF personnel were killed. In 2009, 15 policemen were killed after Maoists surrounded and shot them down. Last year, 51 Maoists were killed in police operations in Gadchiroli district. Today’s incident is being seen as a counter-attack by the Maoists.

Security forces are not supposed to rush to the spot after such incidents as these have turned out to be Maoist traps on previous occasions. In 2009, 15 policemen were killed when they went to investigate the burning of vehicles at Markegaon in Dhanora tehsil. That was also the worst year for the police in Gadchiroli with 52 casualties.

Shinde said the spot where the vehicles had been set on fire and where the landmine was triggered, were 15-20 km apart. He estimated that the landmine contained 40 kg of explosives. Asked if the attack meant the Maoists had specific information on the police party travelling on that road in a private vehicle, Shinde said, “Maybe.”

While the landmine was possibly triggered by a single man deployed at the spot, Shinde said three Maoist militia formations were suspected to be behind the attack – the Kurkheda-Korchi-Khobramendha dalam, Tipagadh dalam, and Company 4.

Incidentally, on April 9, the day of the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections, Maoists triggered explosives at the Gatta polling centre, after which the police increased the patrolling in the entire region. Gadchiroli recorded the highest turnout in Maharashtra at 72 per cent.

Calling the attack a “big loss” for the force, Maharashtra DGP Subodh Kumar Jaiswal said that the blast in Gadchiroli was not a result of intelligence failure. “I cannot call this an intelligence failure… The Maharashtra police will take whatever action needed against such activities. It is a big loss for Maharashtra police,” he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemned the attack and said that the perpetrators will not be spared. “I salute all the brave personnel. Their sacrifices will never be forgotten. My thoughts and solidarity are with the bereaved families. The perpetrators of such violence will not be spared,” he tweeted.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis also expressed grief over the loss of lives. “Anguished to know that our 16 police personnel from Gadchiroli C-60 force got martyred in a cowardly attack by Naxals today. My thoughts and prayers are with the martyrs’ families. I’m in touch with DGP and Gadchiroli SP. I strongly condemn this attack and we will fight this menace with even more and stronger efforts,” he said on Twitter.

The driver of the private vehicle who died is Dadubhau Singhnath.</s>MUMBAI (Reuters) - Suspected leftist insurgents killed at least 15 police and a civilian driver in a landmine attack on two security vehicles in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district on Wednesday, police said, as the state celebrated its foundation day.

The Maoist insurgents, known as Naxals, have battled the state for decades, saying they are fighting for people left out of a long economic boom in Asia’s third-largest economy.

Security forces killed at least 37 Maoist militants last year in Gadchiroli.</s>GADCHIROLI: Maharashtra's Gadchiroli district and surroundings have been the hotbed of Maoist activities for several decades. In the past 10 years, the rebels have attacked security forces and civilians several times.

ALSO READ | 15 commandos, driver killed as Naxals blow up van in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli

Maoists ambush a police patrol, killing 15 personnel, in the forests near Morke village in the Dhanora sub-district.

In a guerrilla-style attack, the Reds attack a police party, killing at least 16 police personnel, including five women, in Murum village in Dhanora.

The rebels and police were engaged in a bloody three-hour gunbattle near Laheri in Bhamragad sub-district in which 17 policemen were killed, including some from the elite C-60, the commando unit of Anti Naxal Operations (ANO). It ranks as the worst-ever attack by Maoists on police personnel and took place at the height of the 2009 Maharashtra Assembly elections.

Maoists attack and killed four policemen by triggering a landmine explosion near Pirimili village in Aheri sub-district.

The rebels lob grenades at a school in Sawangaon village and kill 15, mostly minor students.

At least six persons killed as the outlaws trigger a landmine blast on a wedding party proceeding from Rajnandgaon (Chhattisgarh) to Chandrapur (Maharashtra), near Dhanora when they were passing the Gadchiroli forests.

In two separate incidents, Maoists kill four police personnel of a patrol party in Bejurphata and Nargonda, both in Bhamragad and around 25 km apart.

Two troopers were wounded when Naxals suddenly opened fire on a police patrol which was accompanying a civilian team of the Children and Women's Rights Commission to the Gadchiroli headquarters after attending a function in a local village.

Three security personnel, including two troopers of the Cobra Battalion of the CRPF, killed in an encounter in Makadchua village.

12 commandos of the elite combat team of CRPF killed and 28 others injured as Maoists trigger a landmine blast on a convoy in the Dhanora sub-district area for patrolling duties.

In a huge tragedy on the 59th anniversary of Maharashtra Day, 15 commandos and a driver of the elite C-60 force killed when Maoists trigger an IED blast on their vehicle in Kurkheda sub-district.

Earlier, the Maoists had attacked a road construction site and torched around three dozen heavy vehicles and two site offices of a contractor near Dadarpur village.

These attacks came after the Maoist groups had observed a week of mourning to mark the first anniversary of the killings of their 40 comrades on April 22, 2018 and days after Gadchiroli-Chimur Lok Sabha seat recorded the highest voting in the elections held in April 2019.</s>NEW DELHI (AP) — Maoist rebels May 1 attacked a van carrying police commandos in the insurgents’ stronghold in western India and killed 15 officers and their driver, officials said.

The rebels triggered a land mine blast in the forested Gadchiroli area in Maharashtra state as the vehicle was passing through, police officer Sharad Shelar said.

Sheler said this could be a revenge attack by the rebels after security forces killed 37 insurgents in two separate gun-battles in the region in April last year.

Maharashtra state minister S. Mungantwar said the ambush was a desperate attack by the rebels because authorities had succeeded in holding peaceful voting for national elections in the area last month. The rebels had asked people to boycott the polls.

The Press Trust of India said the rebels first struck early May 1 by burning more than 20 vehicles of a road construction company. They hid in the forest and targeted police commandos when they came searching for them.

The Maoist rebels, who claim inspiration from Chinese revolutionary leader Mao Zedong, have been fighting India’s government for more than four decades, demanding land and jobs for tenant farmers and the poor. The rebels have thousands of fighters and are active in several parts of India.

They routinely attack government troops and officials and have been called India’s greatest internal security threat.</s>Suspected leftist insurgents killed at least 15 police and a civilian driver in a landmine attack on two security vehicles on Wednesday in the western state of Maharashtra, police said, as the state celebrated its foundation day.

Report informs citing TASS that Maoist insurgents, known as Naxals, have battled the state for decades, saying they are fighting for people left out of a long economic boom in Asia’s third-largest economy.</s>NEW DELHI (AP) — Maoist rebels on Wednesday attacked a van carrying police commandos in the insurgents’ stronghold in western India and killed 15 officers and their driver, officials said. The rebels triggered a land…

NEW DELHI (AP) — Maoist rebels on Wednesday attacked a van carrying police commandos in the insurgents’ stronghold in western India and killed 15 officers and their driver, officials said.

The rebels triggered a land mine blast in the forested Gadchiroli area in Maharashtra state as the vehicle was passing through, police officer Sharad Shelar said.

Sheler said this could be a revenge attack by the rebels after security forces killed 37 insurgents in two separate gunbattles in the region in April last year.

Maharashtra state minister S. Mungantwar said the ambush was a desperate attack by the rebels because authorities had succeeded in holding peaceful voting for national elections in the area last month. The rebels had asked people to boycott the polls.

The Press Trust of India said the rebels first struck early Wednesday by burning more than 20 vehicles of a road construction company. They hid in the forest and targeted police commandos when they came searching for them.

The Maoist rebels, who claim inspiration from Chinese revolutionary leader Mao Zedong, have been fighting India’s government for more than four decades, demanding land and jobs for tenant farmers and the poor. The rebels have thousands of fighters and are active in several parts of India.

They routinely attack government troops and officials and have been called India’s greatest internal security threat.

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Sixteen soldiers, including a driver, are killed in a landmine explosion in the Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra, India. Maoist insurgents are currently active in the area, leading officials to believe them to be responsible.