At least 12 police officers have been killed by a land mine that police say could have been planted by Maoist rebels in India's eastern Jharkhand state.
Government officials say the policemen were returning from a school in the state's West Singbhum district where they were trained in defusing mines. They say rebels targeted the area because police often use the school as a base while on long-range patrols. Maoist rebels have been active in Jharkhand and other parts of eastern India for years. They say they are fighting for the rights of landless agricultural laborers and the rural poor.