BHUBANESHWAR (India): Police say Maoist rebels are suspected of triggering a blast that destroyed a police jeep and killed four officers in eastern India.

Police officer Avinash Reddy says the assailants also opened fire on the vehicle during the attack on Friday in the Chitradonda region of Orissa state.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but Maoist rebels in the area often ambush government vehicles.

Inspired by Chinese revolutionary leader Mao Zedong, the rebels have been fighting in several Indian states for more than four decades demanding land and jobs for farmers and the poor.

About 2,000 people — including police, militants and civilians — have been killed in the past few years.—AP