Indian Maoist rebels have killed 14 people in two separate attacks as they continue a campaign of violence aimed at disrupting a five-week national election process.

Five election officials and two bus drivers were killed in Bijapur district in the central state of Chhattisgarh when a landmine exploded under their vehicle. In another attack yesterday, rebels killed five paramilitary soldiers and two civilians in an ambush on the soldiers' vehicle in a forest in the south of the state.

The rebels have been fighting for more than three decades for a greater share of wealth from the area's natural resources and jobs for the poor.