Jharkhand: 6 CRPF jawans injured in IED blast during encounter

Ranchi (Jharkhand) [India], January 11 : As many as six Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were injured in an improvised explosive device (IED) blast during a search and encounter with Naxals in Chaibasa town of Jharkhand's Singhbhum district on Wednesday, a senior police official said.
"Six personnel of CRPF's elite COBRA battalion were injured on Wednesday in a bomb blast after an encounter with the outlawed CPI(Maoist) at Tumbahaka forest in Jharkhand's Naxal-affected West Singhbhum district," the police official said in a statement.
At least five of the six jawans were airlifted and brought to the state Capital Ranchi for better treatment.
According to the police, Naxals triggered the blast when personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), its Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (COBRA), Jharkhand Jaguar of the state police and the district armed police were conducting an anti-Naxal operation in the forest.
According to the police, the Left Wing Extremists opened fire at the security forces when they advanced toward them.
"This prompted the security forces to retaliate and the Naxals were forced to retreat triggering the blast. A massive search operation is on to track down the extremists," the police said.