Death toll rises to 8 in east India poll attack

The death toll from an ambush by Maoist rebels rose to eight inan insurgency-hit region of eastern India, police said Friday after the latest deadlyattack targeting ongoing elections.Maoist rebels killed five police officers and three polling officials Thursday as theywere returning from duty in Jharkhand, one of 12 states where voters went to thepolls in India's multi-phased general elections ."Eight people, including five security force personnel, were killed when Maoistsattacked their minibus," head of Jharkhand police Rajeev Kumar told AFP. The Maoist rebels have called for a boycott of the elections that began on April 7.Results will be out on May 16, four days after polling ends.The insurgents killed 14 people in two poll-related blasts in the central state ofChhattisgarh earlier this month, highlighting the security challenges facing electionorganisers in India.Separatist and Maoist insurgencies affect large swathes of India's northeast,northwest and central regions.The Maoist insurgency has cost thousands of lives. The rebels are believed to bepresent in at least 20 states but are most active in forested, resource-rich areas inthe states of Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Bihar, Jharkhand and Maharashtra.