Two policemen were killed in a gun fight with suspected leftwing rebels in the eastern Indian state of Orissa Friday evening, said police Saturday.

The gun fight took place at Orissa's Nuapada district when the rebels ambushed a team of policemen returning home after routine patrol.

The Naxalite rebels have created a base at a deep forest zone in the area, inhabited by poor tribal people, according to police.

Four security personnel were killed by the rebels earlier this week in the state of Chhattisgarh in central India.

The Naxalite rebels, numbered around 10,000, are active in about 10 eastern and central Indian states, especially in backward rural areas.