Seven Naxals were gunned down in an ongoing encounter with security forces in Chhattisgarh’s Narayanpur district.

The joint operation involving personnel from the District Reserve Guard (DRG) and the Special Task Force (STF) commenced around 6 am on Tuesday in the dense forests along the inter-district border of Kanker and Narayanpur, a police officer said.

The security forces ventured into the area for an anti-Naxal operation when they came under heavy fire from Maoist cadres near Tekmeta and Kakur villages.

In the ensuing gunbattle, seven Maoists were killed by the security forces. During the subsequent search operation, the forces recovered the bodies along with an AK-47 assault rifle, other weapons, ammunition, and explosives from the encounter site.

This is the second major encounter in the area this month, following an operation that left 29 naxals dead earlier.

(Inputs from ANI)