Bhubaneswar: Two Special Operations Group (SOG) jawans were critically injured in an improvised explosive device (IED) blast in the Sirla jungle near Tumuribandh in Odisha’s Khandamal district on Sunday morning. The IED explosion occurred when the jawans were conducting a combing operation to detect and demolish Maoist dens inside the forest.
According to reports, an exchange of fire between the SOG jawans and outlawed Maoists was also underway at the time of writing this news. The entire area has been cordoned off by the jawans and they have launched a counter-strike against the red rebels.
Kandhamal SP Suvendu Patra told the media, “The combing operation was underway at around 10 am when the IED blast took place. They (the two jawans) have sustained splinter injuries.”