Nine naxalites were killed in an encounter with security personnel in Bastar region of Chhattisgarh on Tuesday, a senior police official said.

The gunfight broke out around 10.30 am in the forest along the border of Dantewada and Bijapur districts when a joint team of security forces was out on an anti-Naxal operation, Inspector General of Police, Bastar Range Sundarraj P said.

Personnel belonging to the District Reserve Guard (DRG) and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were involved in the operation, which was launched based on inputs about the presence of naxalites belonging to its west Bastar division unit, he said.