Four Naxals were gunned down in an encounter with security forces on Tuesday in the insurgency-hit Sukma district in Chhattisgarh, police said.

The encounter took place around 6 AM in a forest in the Chintalnar police station area, Deputy Inspector General (anti-Naxal operations) Sundarraj P told PTI.

An elite unit of the CRPF’s Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) was cordoning off the forest area near Karkanguda village, around 500 km away from the state capital, when a group of Naxals started firing on them, leading to a gun-battle, he said.