New Delhi - At least 11 policemen were killed Monday when suspected Maoist rebels attacked them in India's eastern state of Bihar, a news report said.

Armed Maoists attacked a police team visiting a village in the Nawada district, some 175 kilometres south of state capital Patna, the IANS news agency reported.

"Eleven policemen, including the officer in charge of Kauakol police station, Rameshwar Ram, were killed by the Maoists," an official at the police headquarters in Patna told the IANS.

Ram was invited as a chief guest at a religious function in the village.

"When an 18-member police team led by Ram reached the village, Maoist guerillas suddenly attacked and shot them dead," the official said.

Official confirmation on what happened to the remaining policemen was awaited, police sources added.

Maoist militants, who claim to be fighting for the rural poor, operate in 13 of India's 29 states and Maoist violence has been reported from 170 of the 600 districts in the country.

According to independent estimates, more than 600 people - including civilians, police and rebels - were killed in Maoist violence in India in 2008.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has described the Maoist insurgency as one of the gravest internal security threats facing India. (dpa)