Khaira (Bihar), Mar 17 : Armed Maoists attacked Khaira village in Bihar''s Lakhisarai District and killed three persons on Monday night to avenge the murder of one of their men last week.

"They targeted three houses and were on a look out for people who had helped the administration ,"Anoop Yadav, a relative of the victim, said.

The attackers have taken a group of women from the village hostage, threatening to kill them if their enemies are not brought to them.

"The attackers said that who ever has run away from the village will have to be brought to them or else the women in the village will be killed. The reason behind it was to know why Ravidas (Maoist) was killed," Ujjhan, a resident.

Thousands of people have been killed since the Maoists began their insurgency in the late 1960s in a town called Naxalbari in West Bengal.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called the rebels the biggest challenge to the country''s internal security. (ANI)