RAIPUR: Paramilitary commandos in central India launched an operation Wednesday to flush out a group of Maoist rebels who killed 26 police officers in a jungle ambush.

"The security forces have entered the jungle on a manhunt for the outlawed Maoist commanders and rebels," said Ram Niwas, the head of anti-Maoist operations in Chhattisgarh state.

Tuesday`s ambush was the third major rebel attack on security personnel in Chhattisgarh in as many months.

The police officers were returning from a road-opening ceremony when they were ambushed by as many as 100 Maoist fighters who opened fire with automatic weapons from a hilltop, officials said.

A total of 26 officers were killed in a three-hour gun battle.

The government launched a major offensive last year to tackle the worsening left-wing insurgency, but since then the Maoists have hit back -- triggering widespread criticism of officials and politicians.

The rebels have fought for decades throughout east and central India against state and government rule, drawing support from landless tribal groups and farmers left behind by the country`s economic development.

The Maoists had massacred 76 policemen in Chhattisgarh in a similar assault in April, and last month a Maoist landmine attack on a bus killed 24 civilians and 11 police.

Maoist saboteurs were also blamed for derailing a Mumbai-bound passenger train from Kolkata last month, killing nearly 150 people.

The scale of recent rebel strikes has highlighted the government`s struggle to find an effective strategy against the insurgency, leading to calls for the army and air force to be drafted in.

But until now, the government has insisted that paramilitary and state police forces are capable of flushing the Maoists out of their jungle bases.

BDST: 11:53 HRS, June 30, 2010