IEDs pose huge challenge in efforts to counter Naxals: police

Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) planted randomly in forests and places where frequent de- mining operations are not feasible pose a big challenge in the counter-insurgency operations in Chhattisgarh's Bastar division, says a senior police official

At least 1,232 IEDs have been recovered by security forces in different pockets of Bastar from 2010 to June 30 this year, as per the figures of the state police department.

As many as 66 security personnel were killed and 205 injured in the IED blasts during the period, according to the statistics.

An IED is commonly used as roadside bombs.

The Maoists have largely resorted to the use of IEDs to inflict casualties on security personnel. The devices sometimes are hidden underground or in bushes for years before the ultras use them in ambushes on national highways, important state roads and near the camps of security forces, according to police.

Some landmine detection vehicles have also been blown up by the insurgents by planting the IEDs in the past.

"The pressure IEDs planted randomly inside the forests in unpredictable places, where frequent de-mining operations are not feasible, remain a challenge (for the security forces)," Deputy Inspector General of Police (Dantewada range) Sundarraj P told

(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)