A woman Maoist rebel was killed and two police personnel were injured in an gun-battle in the insurgency-hit Narayanpur district on Wednesday morning, a top police official said.

The exchange of fire broke out in a forest under Chhotedongar police station limits around 8 am, when a joint team of the district reserve guard (DRG) and Chhattisgarh armed force (CAF) was out on a counter-insurgency operation, Narayanpur superintendent of police Mohit Garg said.

When the patrolling team was cordoning off the forest close to a hillock near Kademeta police camp, the Maoist rebels who had laid an ambush, detonated IEDs (improvised explosive devices) and opened fire at the security personnel, leading to the gun-battle, he said.

"Two security personnel, one belonging to the DRG and the other from the CAF, sustained injuries in the incident," he said, adding that they were being shifted to a local hospital.

Head constable Rajkumar Sori sustained IED blast injuries in the left thigh and the left shoulder, while constable Bal Kanwar Baghel (CAF 22bn D coy) sustained bullet injury in the left elbow. The Condition of both the injured security personnel is normal and they are out of danger, police said.

After the guns fell silent, the body of a woman Maoist rebel  and two rifles were recovered from the spot, the official said.

The woman rebel was identified as Ranai, an area committee member,  and in-charge of East Bastar division supply team. She was an active cadre of the East Bastar division since 2007 and was believed to be involved in more than a dozen of Maoist attacks in the Narayanpur area, police said.