Twelve people including four women have been killed in central India after the vehicle they were travelling in was blown up in a landmine blast.

Maoist rebels are suspected of carrying out the attack which took place in a village in Maharashtra state.

The victims were part of a group that had attended a wedding there and were returning to their village in the neighbouring state of.

Maoist rebels have stepped up attacks in many Indian states in recent months.

It is still not clear how many were injured in the blast which took place in the early hours of Tuesday, according to the police.

Gadchiroli, the scene of the attack, is adjacent to Chhattisgarh's Bastar region which is said to be a stronghold of the Maoist rebels.

The rebels are active in six Indian states and say they are fighting for the rights of landless peasants and indigenous peoples.

Thousands have died in Maoist campaigns across central and southern India in the past 30 years.

The Indian government believes that there may be 10,000 armed Maoist rebels in India, correspondents say.

PHOTO CAPTION

Troops killed five Maoist guerrillas in India's central state of Chhattisgarh as celebrated anti-insurgency expert Kanwar Pal Singh Gill (right) took charge of a crackdown in the rebels' bastion. (AFP)

BBC