'Maoist rebels kill 13 police in Bhubaneswar'

BHUBANESWAR: Maoist rebels have shot dead 13 police and a civilian in eastern India, a police official said on Saturday.

More than 100 rebels attacked two police stations in eastern Orissa district, of which Bhubaneswar is the capital, late Friday and stole weapons before escaping, witnesses said.

"The attack was sudden and in the middle of the night. They killed 13 policemen and a civilian," superintendent of police Rajesh Kumar told the media.

The Maoist insurgency, which grew out of a peasant uprising in 1967, has spread to half of India's 29 states.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has described the rebels as the single biggest threat to India's internal security.