Top Indian left-wing rebel leader killed by security forces

A top Indian left-wing Naxal rebel leader, Koteswar Rao alias Kishenji, along with four other rebels, were killed on Thursday in an encounter with security forces in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal, said local media reports. Local newspaper Times of India quoted official sources as saying the rebel leader was killed in a gunbattle with security forces that lasted half hour. The search for another rebel leader, Suchitra Mahato, is still going on. Five rebels were captured alive by a team of joint security forces after they launched a massive manhunt Wednesday for Kishenji, who was suspected to be hiding in the jungles of the state's rebel-ridden West Midnapore district.