Naxals fired upon an Indian Air Force helicopter which had been sent to help the police-CRPF operation in Dantewada district, official sources said.
As per the official information reaching here today, five jawans who were inside and the pilot were safe, though the helicopter was hit by nine rounds in the incident on Monday.
The MI-17 chopper of IAF had been sent to assist the police and CRPF forces which had undertaken a large-scale operation against naxals on December 18.
While returning, the chopper came under naxal fire over a hill, though it succeeded in reaching Jagdalpur safely.
The helicopter did not suffer any damage, the sources said.
During the operation, nine naxals were arrested and large cache of weapons was seized, senior police officers said.