HYDERABAD: Three junior commandos of the elite anti-Naxal force, Greyhounds, died early Thursday in a landmine blast triggered by the Maoists along the Telangana-Chhattisgarh border. The incident marks the first fatalities of the year for Telangana Police in anti-Maoist operations.According to senior Telangana police officials, the commandos were engaged in a routine area domination exercise in the Wazeedu–Perur forest zone of Mulugu district when the explosion occurred near the Veerabhadravaram-Tadapala hillocks.“All three victims are Greyhounds Junior Commandos of Constable rank. There are no other casualties. The incident happened during a routine area domination exercise. It was not part of any joint operation with CRPF or neighbouring state police,” a senior official confirmed.The bodies of the slain commandos had not yet reached the district headquarters at the time of reporting. Police are yet to officially identify the deceased personnel.Mulugu and its adjacent Bhadradri-Kothagudem district are considered Telangana’s most Maoist-affected regions due to their proximity to Chhattisgarh. So far in 2025, over 250 Maoists—mostly from Chhattisgarh—have surrendered to police in the two districts.The fatal blast occurred a day after security forces in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district gunned down 22 Maoists during an encounter under Operation Sankalp, a large-scale counter-insurgency campaign. The operation spanned the Karregutta forest region, which stretches across the inter-state borders of Bijapur, Mulugu, and Bhadradri-Kothagudem.Though Telangana Police have not officially participated in either Operation Kagar or Sankalp, they have been maintaining heightened surveillance on Maoist activity within their territory.