NEW DELHI, March 25 (Xinhua) -- As many as 11 people were killed and four injured when rebels detonated a landmine in the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh in central India. Three rebels also died in a gun battle with police Saturday.

    The first incident took place in the thickly forested Pakhanjurarea, 254 km south of Raipur, capital of Chhattisgarh in central India, in Kanker district bordering Maharashtra Friday night.

    "Rebels exploded the mine under a jeep carrying 15 people in Pakhanjur around 9 p.m. Six people died on the spot while five succumbed to their injuries in a hospital Saturday," Indo-Asian News Service quoted district police chief Pradeep Gupta as saying.

    Police said the six tribals and five traders who were killed were returning from a market when rebels triggered the blast.

    In another incident at 8 a.m. Saturday, police killed three rebels in a shootout at Bhairamgarh area, 420 km south of Raipur, in the violence-hit district of Dantewada bordering Andhra Pradesh.

    Three rebels were killed in the exchange of fire that broke outafter the rebels opened fire on a police vehicle. Police have recovered the bodies of all the three men, said M.W. Ansari, the inspector general of Bastar Range.

    Rebels have a strong presence in eight of Chhattisgarh's 16 districts. Officials say nearly 90 people have been killed in rebel violence in the pradesh since Jan. 1, mostly in Dantewada district. Enditem¡¡