PATNA: Maoist rebels killed 16 people, including five children, in an early morning attack Friday on a rural village in the eastern Indian state of Bihar, a police official said.

Security forces were combing the villages and forests around the attacked village, Amosi Bharen, in search of the rebels, said Additional Director General of Police Neelamni, who uses only one name.

The village is about 200 kilometers (120 miles) north of Patna, the capital of the east Indian state of Bihar.

The rebels have been fighting for more than three decades in several Indian states, demanding land and jobs for agricultural laborers and the poor. The violence has killed about 2,000 people, including police, militants and civilians.