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Four suspected Maoists and 10 federal security officers died in an hours-long shootout Monday in eastern India.

The siege ended early Monday after about 100 suspected Maoists had attacked a bauxite mine in the state of Orissa, in what police said was an aborted bid to steal explosives stocked in the pit.

At least 70 workers were in the pit when it was stormed, but none of them was hurt, said Deepak Kumar Chauhan, district police chief of Koraput in the state.

"The armory is safe. Maoists have retreated. And all the workers are also safe," Chauhan added.

The Maoists rebels, known as the Naxalites, have been battling the government in several states in an insurgency that has resulted in thousands of casualties since the late 1960s. They claim to be fighting for the poor and the dispossessed.