Sukma, May 26 (IANS): Para-military personnel are combing the forested area in the Bastar district where Maoist insurgents Saturday attacked a convoy of Congress leaders and workers returning to state capital Raipur from a rally.

The troopers first took stock of the area where a landmine was triggered, and inspected the cars which were attacked by insurgents with hail of fire.

However, it was still not known how deep into the jungles the troopers would be moving to hunt for insurgents, as the area is close to the Andhra Pradesh border.

The dense jungles in the area, where the attack took place, posed problems to security personnel, especially as there was also incessant rain in the morning hours.

Reports from Sukma stated that the troopers found used cartridges which could establish the nature of weapons used in the attack.

Since morning, half a dozen more bodies were shifted from the Darbha Ghati to Jagdalpur for the last rites.

The road on the Darbha Ghati remains closed for normal traffic, as a huge crater was created from the landmine blast. After the blast, insurgents opened indiscriminate fire on vehicles in the convoy.