RANCHI, India Thirteen people were killed by left wing guerillas in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand, a government spokesman said Saturday as carried by AFP.

The incident took place on Friday night, when the guerillas invaded Beltu Village in Hazaribagh district, about 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the provincial capital Ranchi.

According to the spokesman, the villagers were kidnapped from their homes and killed by rebels belonging to the Maoist Communist Center (MCC).

All the victims were members of a village defense group formed by the state government to counter the MCC.