Gunfight in India kills 14 Maoist

At least 14 suspected Maoist guerillas were killed yesterday in a gunfight in India's western state of Maharashtra, police said, yet another violent clash in the country's longest-running conflict.

Police said nearly 100 rebels were intercepted in a remote forest in Gadchiroli district roughly 900 kilometres east of Mumbai, and ordered to surrender.

But the guerrillas opened fire, sparking a battle with special police units that lasted hours, Maharashtra police said.

The Maoist insurgency began in the 1960s, inspired by Chinese revolutionary leader Mao Zedong, and has cost thousands of lives in almost daily incidents of violence.