Maoist rebels set off a landmine under a truck on Tuesday in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh, killing 55 people and wounding at least 20 who belonged to a government-backed anti-Maoist group, police said.
The attack came on the eve of a visit to the country by US President George W. Bush and was one of the worst single acts of violence by Maoists in the past three decades.
Analysts said the attack showed New Delhi could ill-afford to take the growing Maoist threat lightly.
"Maoists set off a landmine in Darmagura area in Dantewada district, killing 55 people," senior police officer S.K Paswan told Reuters, adding those killed were tribal members returning from an anti-Maoist meeting organised by the state.
Some of the wounded were taken to neighbouring Andhra Pradesh state by helicopter.
Officials said hundreds of police reinforcements had been sent to the area to search for those behind the attacks. Darmagura, 500 km (300 miles) south of the state capital Raipur, is a stronghold of Maoists who claim to be fighting for the rights of peasants and landless labourers.
Security analysts say New Delhi ignores the seriousness of the Maoist threat in the country at its peril. "This is a great error of judgement and the country will pay for this for decades," said Ajai Sahni, executive director of the New Delhi-based Institute of Conflict Management.
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