15 security personnel injured in IED blasts in Jharkhand

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Ranchi: Fifteen security personnel were injured when Maoists triggered a series of IED blasts near Hurda forests in Jharkhand's Seraikela-Kharsawan district in the early hours of Tuesday, a police officer said. The blasts took place around 5 am when a joint team of the CRPF's special jungle warfare unit, CoBRA, and the police was carrying out anti-Naxal operations in the forests of Kuchai area in the district, he said.

"Fifteen security men were injured when the Maoists triggered as many IED blasts. Two of the 15 injured are in a serious condition," Inspector General of Police (Operation) Ashish Batra said. The injured troops, 13 belonging to the CRPF's CoBRA battalion and the rest of the Jharkhand Armed Police and the district police, were airlifted to Ranchi, another senior officer said. The area has been cordoned off and a search operation is on to nab the culprits, he added.

The blast took place around 5 am when a joint team of the CRPF's special jungle warfare unit, CoBRA, and the state police was carrying out an operation in the forests of Kuchai area in the district, they said. According to officials, the improvised explosive device (IED) is suspected to have been buried under the dirt track. The injured troops, eight of the CoBRA and rest belonging to the state police, have been airlifted to state capital Ranchi, they said. The joint team was being led by the 209th battalion of the Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) of the Central Reserve Police Force deployed in the state for anti-Naxal operations, officials said.