New Delhi, March 22 (IANS): After all the 17 bodies of security personnel killed in a gun-battle with Maoists in forests of the insurgency-hit Sukma district of Chhattisgarh were recovered on Sunday, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi expressed anguish over their killing, here on Sunday.

"I am devastated with the martyrdom of 17 jawans and injured. I offer condolence to families of the martyr, and wish speedy recovery of the injured," Rahul Gandhi tweeted.

Of the 17, 12 were the District Reserve Guard (DRG) and 5 special task force (STF) personnel, the state police sources told IANS. They were killed on Saturday.

The bodies were recovered during a search operation in the Sukma forested area around noonon Sunday by a joint team of the DRG, the STF and the Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA), an elite unit of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).

The slain security personnel were part of a group of nearly 600 personnel belonging to the joint DRG, STF and CoBRA team that had launched an anti-Maoist operation from three sides towards Elmagunda in Sukma on Saturday.