New Delhi  - At least eight villagers were killed in an attack by Maoist rebels in India's eastern state of Jharkhand on Tuesday, a news report said.

Police told the PTI news agency that members of a local resistance force formed to combat Maoist activities were travelling in a vehicle in Gumla district, some 100 kilometres south-west of state capital Ranchi when they were ambushed by the militants.

The rebels first opened fire on them and later threw inflammable substances on the vehicle, setting it ablaze. Police said a number of women and a child were in the vehicle.

Maoist rebels, who claim to be fighting for the rural poor, tribal people and the landless, operate in 13 of India's 29 states.

Thousands of people, mostly police and paramilitary personnel and government officials, have been killed in the insurgency since the late 1960s.

Jharkhand is among the Indian states worst affected by the Maoist militancy.

Latest official figures show central Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand states accounted for nearly two-thirds of the 650 casualties of security personnel and civilians in Maoist violence last year. (dpa)