At least 12 Naxalites were killed in an encounter with security forces in Chhattisgarh's Gariaband district, police said on Tuesday.

Earlier on Monday, two women Naxalites were killed and one CoBRA jawan was injured in an encounter during the same operation, they said.

An official said a fresh exchange of fire took place late on Monday night and early Tuesday morning in a forest under the Mainpur police station area along the Chhattisgarh-Odisha border, in which 12 more Naxalites were killed.

He said a joint team of security personnel from the District Reserve Guard (DRG), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), CoBRA from Chhattisgarh and Special Operation Group (SOG) from Odisha were involved in the operation.

The official said the operation was launched on the night of January 19 based on intelligence about the presence of Maoists in the Kularighat reserve forest of Chhattisgarh, just 5 km from the border of Odisha's Nuapada district.

Two women Naxalites were neutralised during the operation on Monday, and a large cache of firearms, ammunition and IEDs, including a self-loading rifle, were recovered from the encounter site, the official said.

The number of Maoist casualties may increase, he said.

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