Narayanpur: At least eight Naxalites have been killed in an operation launched by security personnel on May 21 in a forest along the Narayanpur-Bijapur inter-district border in Chhattisgarh, police said today. Seven Maoists were killed on Thursday while another was shot dead today.

After Thursday’s encounter, security personnel were returning to their base when Naxalites fired on a patrolling team of the Special Task Force leading to a gunbattle between the two sides on Friday morning, he said.

The STF personnel were part of a joint squad of security forces that had gunned down seven Naxalites in an encounter in the Pallewaya-Handawada area along the Bijapur-Narayanpur border on Thursday.

After the firing stopped, the body of a Naxalite in ‘uniform’ was recovered from the spot, the official said, adding that further details are awaited.

With the latest incident, 113 Naxalites have been killed so far this year in separate encounters with security forces in the state.