Gadchiroli (Maharashtra), Oct 18 (IANS): In a major victory for the security forces, a crack team of commandos gunned down five Maoists, including three women, after coming under attack in the thick forests of Maharashtra's Gadchiroli early on Sunday, officials said.

Around 4 a.m., Maoists opened fire on a police patrol, conducting a search operation in the forests of Kosmi-Kisneli in the Dhanora region.

"The Anti-Naxal (Maoist) Operations C-60 commandos opened retaliatory fire in the direction of the Maoists after which they fled the area," said an official.

Later, the police recovered the bodies of three female and two male Maoists from the bushes and efforts are on to confirm their identity, the cases or rewards against them, etc.

There were no casualties on the security side in the first major encounter for the current year besides being the maiden operation under new Gadchiroli Superintendent of Police Ankit Goyal.

The ANO and Maharashtra Police have intensified anti-Maoist operations in a big way in the region in recent months.