RANCHI, India, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Suspected Maoist rebels in the eastern Indian state of Jharkand hijacked a truck loaded with 23 tonnes of ammonium nitrate that was bound for an explosives factory, police said on Monday.

"The ammonium nitrate has been taken outside the state. We have constituted teams of security forces to rescue the truck," Jharkand police spokesman S.N. Pradhan said.

The truck was headed on Sunday to a factory where explosives are made with ammonium nitrate and then used for mining in the area, police said.

The driver and his assistant were found unconscious after apparently being given a drug covertly, police said.

Ammonium nitrate is commonly used as a fertiliser but can be mixed with other materials to produce a powerful explosive. A bomb made with ammonium nitrate ripped apart the Alfred P. Murrah federal building in Oklahoma City in the United States in 1995, killing 168 people.

The Maoists say they are fighting for the rights of peasants and landless labourers in eastern and southern India, and periodically attack government property or target police and politicians. (Reporting by Nityanand Shukla; Writing by Bryson Hull; Editing by Valerie Lee)

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