A woman Maoist and a jawan of the Special Operation Group were killed and three other securitymen injured in a gunbattle between the two sides inside a forest at Pallur in Koraput district Thursday.

The fight began early in the morning in Pallur jungle when a group of 20-25 Maoist ultras ambushed jawans of the SOG, the state’s elite anti-Naxal force, who were on a combing operation in the area.

In the ensuing exchange of fire, a woman Maoist and an SOG jawan, Gangadhar Dalai, died, Koraput Superintendent of Police Dipak Kumar said.

Hailing from Bargarh district, Dalai was critically injured in a claymore mine explosion and died in a hospital.

Another jawan was also seriously injured in the explosion and was being taken to a hospital at Vishakhapatnam in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh by a helicopter.

Two other securitymen also sustained bullet injuries but their condition was not life threatening, he said adding an INSAS rifle was found from near the dead woman Maoist.

The rifle was stolen from the police training centre at Nayagarh on February 15, 2008 in an attack by the Maoists that had claimed 14 lives, Kumar said.