Odisha, Feb. 9 -- As many as 12 Maoists were killed in a major encounter with security forces in Bijapur's National Park area in Chhattisgarh ahead of the Panchayat elections, police said on Sunday.

As per the information, the encounter still continues.

This encounter comes a week after eight Maoists were killed in another operation of security forces launched in Bijapur district.

The gunfight in which eight Maoists were killed broke out on January 31 when a joint team of security personnel was out on an anti-Maoist operation, a senior police official said.

Personnel of the District Reserve Guard and Special Task Force of the state police along with the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and its elite unit CoBRA (Commando Battalion f...