Seven naxalites were killed in an encounter with security forces in Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh on Friday, police told the media.

This is the first time that an operation has been conducted in this area of #Chhattisgarh. Eight bodies have been recovered. 6 are female & 2 are male: DM Awasthi, Special DG (Naxal Operation) on Bijapur encounter. pic.twitter.com/7wDcsiEugz

— ANI (@ANI) April 27, 2018

A joint squad of Greyhounds -- an elite anti-Naxal unit of the Telangana Police -- and security personnel from Chhattisgarh had launched a combing operation in the forests along the inter-state border following intelligence inputs about presence of Maosits in the area. When the patrolling team was in Ipenta, located around 500km from the state capital Raipur, an exchange of fire broke out between the two sides. After the guns fell silent, security forces recovered the bodies of seven naxalites, including that of women, from the encounter spot, reported PTI. The encounter comes close on the heels of a massive counter-offensive against Maoists in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli district last Sunday. 39 naxalites were killed in the operation carried out by C-60 commandos of the Maharashtra Police. Search for more bodies and weapons is still underway.