8 suspected Maoists killed in Andhra

Six of the slain guerrillas were women, the Press Trust of India quoted a police spokesman as saying in the state capital of Hyderabad.

The suspected rebels were killed following a fierce gunbattle with police commandos in the dense forests in the state's Mahabubnagar district, a Maoist bastion, he said.

Andhra Pradesh is one of 15 of India's 29 states where the outlawed guerrillas hold sway across vast swathes of the countryside. The rebels say they are fighting for the rights of neglected tribes and landless farmers.