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Maoists attack government sites, kill 11 security personnel

The attack on army barracks, police posts, and administrative offices took place in the Khalanga Bazaar area of Jumla district, 560km west of Kathmandu. Over 500 security personnel were deployed in the area, sources at the army headquarters said.

Eight policemen and three soldiers were killed and about a dozen injured. No reports of any Maoists being hurt were received because of the disruption in communication links.

But Radio Nepal quoting eyewitnesses said that both the security forces and the Maoists suffered heavy casualties, as the rebels were seen carrying the bodies of their comrades in bamboo baskets. Communication links were re-established on Friday morning, the sources said.

Additional security forces were sent with a night-vision helicopter to counter the attack late Thursday night, but the aircraft was unable to land because of bad weather.

Both ground and air strikes have been launched now to drive away the rebels from the district headquarters, the army sources said.

The attack was launched just a day after the leader of the rebels, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who calls himself 'Prachanda', offered peace talks. The offer came on the heels of the end of a three-day nationwide strike ordered by the rebels. The Nepal government has agreed to peace talks.

In another incident, a nine-year-old boy died in an explosion at Deukhuri in Dang district on Thursday. He was playing with an unidentified object, which exploded. Maoist rebels are suspected to have left the object there.

Two rebels were killed in Sindhupalchowk district, Radio Nepal reported.

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