Leftwing rebels kill 2 in India

Suspected extreme left-wing rebels have shot dead two people in the eastern Indian state of Odisha or Orissa, police said Wednesday. A group of heavily armed rebels stormed into Bahiliguma village in remote Chitrakonda area late Tuesday night and gunned down Satirao Hantala, 45, and Laxmi Khara, 37, after calling them out of their houses, Malkangiri Superintendent of Police Akhileswar Singh told the media. The two were attacked for being police informants, Singh said. One of the victims was said to be a former Maoist who surrendered to the authorities. Security forces have been dispatched to the area for organizing a "combing operation" to find the attackers, said police. The Naxalite rebels, estimated to have 10,000 members, have been engaging with government forces for over four decades, mostly in rural areas of eastern and central India.