In the worst ever and one of the most gruesome naxal attack in recent times, 75 CRPF personnel including a head constable of the Special Police Force were killed in an ambush on Tuesday morning in the Dandewade distirct of Chhattisgarh. The security personnel were on a joint operation against the CPI(Maoists) in the thick forests of Mukrana. Dantewada Superintendent of Police Amresh Mishra said the Naxals first blew up a vehicle carrying the CRPF personnel near Chintalnar-Tarmetla village in the district. Immediately after the blast, the CRPF personnel and a few police personnel tried to take cover when they came under heavy fire from hundreds of Naxals, well entrenched on the adjacent hillock.<br/><br/>State Police have launched a massive combing operation to nab the naxalites. The help of the Andhra Pradesh Police has also been sought in this operation. The inter- state borders of Chhattisgarh have been sealed to prevent the naxalites from escaping to the adjacent states.<br/><br/>The Home Secretary, Mr. G.K. Pillai, while giving details of the incident said that the Maoists had planted pressure bombs to attack the CRPF personnel. He said that the government remains firm on its resolve and the Maoists will get a befitting reply. He asserted that today's attack will not have any impact on the on going operation against the left wing extremists. The Home Secretary ruled out the use of air power for the moment. Mr. Pillai said that a rescue helicopter sent to the area also came under fire. He said that an AN-32 aircraft has already been sent to bring the bodies of the security personnel<br/><br/>The Prime Minister took stock of the situation following the attack. The Home Minister, Mr. P. Chidambaram who attended the high level meeting briefed Dr. Manmohan Singh about the incident. The Home Minister earlier said, something must have gone drastically wrong in the joint operation as the personnel seemed to have walked into a trap.<br/><br/>Strongly condemning the attack, Congress spokesman, Abhishek Singhvi said the Maoists are feeling the heat on the operation against them and that is why they have reacted in this brutal manner. The BJP spokesman, Mr. Rajiv Pratap Rudy described the attack as a senseless blood bath by the naxalites. He said that it is high time the government adopted a strategy to fight against them to finish. <br/><br/>In Bihar, an alert has been sounded in view of the Dantewada attack. Director General Police, Neelmani tol AIR correspondent that all the police stations in the naxal infested areas have been instructed to be extra vigilant.Railways have decided that a pilot engine will run ahead of a group of trains in such areas. The speed of Rajdhani trains has also been restricted to 75 kilometers per hours.<br/>