Raipur/Kanker: Two BSF troopers were killed in an IED blast triggered by Maoists in Chhattisgarh's Kanker district on Monday evening, police said.

The blast occurred in the Tarhwali jungle area of the district, when a search party of the Border Security Force (BSF) came to the area after getting reports of Maoist activity there.

As soon as the troopers reached there, the hiding Maoists fired on the security personnel and then detonated the IED, killing troopers Santosh Lakshman and Nityanand Nayak, said Inspector General of Police, Bastar, Vivekanand Sinha.

According to information, the gunfight has ended and the bodies of the two killed troopers recovered. Some Maoists were also reportedly killed in the exchange of fire, but there was no official corroboration of this.

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh expressed his grief over the death of the two BSF troopers and extended his condolences to the family, while terming the Maoist attack "cowardly".