BHUBANESWAR, India, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Indian security forces killed 20 Maoist rebels in eastern Orissa after the guerrillas attacked police stations and looted weapons in one of the biggest raids ever in the state, an official said on Sunday.

Hundreds of rebels attacked Nayagarh, just 80 km (50 miles) from the state capital Bhubaneswar, late on Friday, killing 14 police officers and raising tension across the region.

"We have lost at least three of our security men. However, according to information received security forces have also killed at least 20 Maoist rebels," top Orissa official Tushar Kanti Mishra told reporters.

Director General of Police Gopal Chandra Nanda told Reuters the rebels involved in the attacks on Nayagarh had attempted to hide in thick forest about 200 km away but had been tracked by police. The rebels died in confrontations on Saturday.

The Maoists say they are fighting for the rights of the poor and landless and regularly stage raids in the swathe of eastern and central India in which they have a presence.

Prime Minister Manmoham Singh has declared their decades-old rebellion the biggest single threat to India's internal security, and hundreds die each year in violence linked to the insurgency.

The rebels draw many of their recruits from among tribal communities, which are often desperately poor and live in areas where the Indian state has little presence. (Reporting by Jatindra Dash; Editing by Catherine Evans)

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