Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde vows 'revenge' for Chhattisgarh Naxal attack

"So many jawans have lost their lives in the attack, we will take revenge...the central and state forces are working together on it," Mr Shinde said and added that the National Investigation Agency will probe the attack. The Home Minister also added that contrary to reports, there was no specific intelligence input about the attack.

With the general election round the corner, the Centre has decided to send additional forces to the state, which votes on April 10 and 17.

On Tuesday morning, 70-100 well-armed Naxals ambushed a joint 50-member joint team of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and the state police, leading to a three-hour gun battle. 15 jawans and a civilian were killed.

Reports say that the CRPF in the area had not varied its patrol routine and had fallen into a predictable pattern and that allowed the Naxals to monitor movement and assess the strength of the patrol.

The joint police team was protecting a road construction team in the Jeeram Valley, a deeply-forested and remote region, about 400 km from state capital Raipur.

Home ministry sources in Delhi told NDTV that the security personnel, caught unawares and heavily outnumbered by the Naxals, fought back hard, but ran out of ammunition.

The attack took place close to the spot where 26 people, including several prominent leaders of the Congress, were massacred by Naxals ten months ago. This was the first major attack in the area since then.

Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh of the BJP cut short a visit to Delhi and rushed to Jagdalpur.  "Maoism is not just the problem of Chhattisgarh but the entire country," he said. State Congress leader Ajit Jogi has accused the Raman Singh government of mishandling the Naxal problem in the state.

Tuesday's attack is being seen as a demonstration once again of the Naxals' ability to strike at a time and place of their choosing.

A review of standard operating procedures and the deployment pattern in the state, considered a Maoist stronghold, is expected to follow but questions about frequent lapses on part of the security forces will continue to haunt the government.