Gadchiroli (Maharashtra), Feb 18 (IANS): Seven Maoists were killed in a two-hour long gun battle with Maharashtra Police on the border the state shares with Chhattisgarh, a top official said Tuesday.

This was a major success for Maharashtra Police in their counter-insurgency operations in the Vidarbha region's Gadchiroli district which has been a Maoist stronghold for years.

The gun battle took place in the deep forests of Bedhkati area near the Gadchiroli-Gondia border around 11.30 p.m. late Monday, said Gadchiroli Superintendent of Police S. Haque.

"The cross-firing lasted for nearly two hours. We subsequently recovered seven bodies, including of two women. They were all clad in Naxal uniforms. So far, we have identified six of them as well as their dalams (platoon)," Haque told IANS.

He said the security forces also recovered a large cache of arms and ammunition from them, including at least one army AK-47 assault rifle, three SLRs, hand grenades and a large quantity of live ammunition rounds.

In the joint operation carried out by Gadchiroli and Gondia police units, four policemen sustained injuries and have been admitted to a hospital.