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The Mi-17 helicopter crashed near the town of Arenal del Sur in the department of Bolivar in northern Colombia, the military said on Monday.

"I regret the death of the nine soldiers in the military helicopter that was supposed to supply troops in the fight against the Clan del Golfo in the south of Bolívar," wrote Colombian President Gustavo Petro on social media platform X.

The Clan del Golfo (Gulf Clan) is the most powerful criminal organisation in Colombia. The crime syndicate recruits its members primarily from former right-wing paramilitaries and is said to have around 6,000 men under arms.

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In addition to drug trafficking, the organisation is involved in illegal mining and protection rackets and is responsible for numerous murders and dispossessions, Last year, the former head of the cartel, Dairo Antonio Usuga, commonly known as Otoniel, was sentenced to 45 years in prison in the US.

(IANS/DPA)

A huge quantity of weapons, ammunition and explosives including one AK 47 were also recovered from the encounter site, according to a top police official.

Speaking on details of the ongoing encounter, Inspector General of Police (Bastar Range) P Sundarraj said, "A joint team of the District Reserve Guard (DRG) and Special Task Force (STF) was out on an anti-Naxal operation on Monday night. The gunfight took place in the forest area located between village Tekmeta and Kakur at 6:00 am this morning," P Sundarraj said.

"Bodies of seven Maoists, including two women cadres, and a huge cache of weapons and explosives including one AK 47 were recovered from the spot", the IG said.

"The identification of the dead Maoists is being done. The search operation is underway. More details are awaited," he further said.

Earlier on April 17, 29 Naxals were killed in encounter before they could execute a major incident as a part of their Tactical Counter Offensive Campaign (TCOC).

"Following inputs about the presence of hardcore cadres, including Shankar, Lalita and Rupi in Maad area falling in Kanker district and their plans to create a disturbance during the election, security forces mobilised, resulting in the biggest breakthrough on the naxal front," said Pakhanjur Station House Officer (SHO) Laxman Kewat, who was among officers leading the team.

He further informed that the team had no idea that Naxals would open fire first, as we were intending to call them to shun the part of violence and surrender. "Last month, we had an encounter with naxals resulting in the killing of the LGS commander in Kanker district and the recovery of one AK-4," the officer informed, adding that "one jawan was killed on the line of duty."

(ANI)

Chopra's squad did have few surprises and did make cases for his choices with stats and the need for balance and flexibility in the squad. Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal were his picks for openers with Virat Kohli as an option for both opening and no. 3 spot. While Kohli has always featured for team India at No 3, he has enjoyed another stellar season while opening for RCB, on Sunday he became the first batsman to reach the 500-run mark this season.

Suryakumar Yadav was his next pick followed by Shivam Dube and Rinku Singh. Aakash Chopra stated it could become a fight amongst the three for a spot as Yadav made his return to competitive cricket this season after a lengthy injury and Rinku Singh has not hit the same high as his previous seasons.

The next name mentioned in the squad might probably be the most unpopular choice right now in Hardik Pandya, but Aakash backed his choice stating that Hardik is the only batter out there who provides an option as a fast bowler as well. Ravindra Jadeja was his second choice as the second all-rounder in the team.

Moving on to the wicket-keepers, Aakash surprised most fans by selecting Rishab Pant and KL Rahul over Sanju Samson. Rishabh is playing some of his best cricket after returning from a career-threatening injury and is in contention for the orange cap as well.

For options as spinners, he went ahead with Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav but he did state that he would not be surprised if Axar Patel made it into the actual squad instead of Chahal.

Jasprit Bumrah was the first choice of fast bowlers and said that he was an easy choice. Arshdeep Singh was his second choice followed by the surprise pick of Deepak Chahar, he did back his inclusion stating that Deepak is one of the most economical bowlers in the powerplay where he has picked up 64 wickets in 95 innings at an economy of just 7.7.

Aakash Chopra's squad for Team India: Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Rishab Pant (WK), KL Rahul (WK), Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh and Deepak Chahar.

(ANI)