Nepal bomb attacks kill up to 11 police
KATHMANDU, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Up to 11 Nepalese police officers were killed when Maoist guerrillas bombed two police stations and a municipal office around Kathmandu on Saturday, police and officials said.
The bombings were the first attacks in the area around the capital since the Maoists ended their truce on Jan. 2 and came just hours after 16 rebels were killed in a firefight.
The police officers died in one of the bomb attacks at Thankot, about 10 km (6 miles) from the capital, just before dusk.
"Initial reports say up to 11 police officers could have died," a police officer told reporters.
There was no information on casualties from either the second police station blast, which went off near the temple town of Bhaktapur, or the explosion at the municipal office in Patan, in Kathmandu.
The rebels, who have been fighting to topple the Hindu monarchy and set up a communist state in the Himalayan nation, ended their four-month truce saying the government had not matched it.
They have vowed to disrupt Feb. 8 elections for 58 municipal councils and have said they will expand their nearly 10-year-old revolt to Kathmandu and other cities. They had previously targeted mainly rural areas.
Earlier, 16 Maoist rebels and a soldier were killed in the biggest battle in Nepal since the guerrilla ceasefire ended, the army said.
They were killed during a firefight in Syangja, a Maoist stronghold 225 km (140 miles) west Kathmandu, two days after soldiers shot dead 10 rebels in the same area.
The bombings were the first attacks in the area around the capital since the Maoists ended their truce on Jan. 2 and came just hours after 16 rebels were killed in a firefight.
The police officers died in one of the bomb attacks at Thankot, about 10 km (6 miles) from the capital, just before dusk.
"Initial reports say up to 11 police officers could have died," a police officer told reporters.
There was no information on casualties from either the second police station blast, which went off near the temple town of Bhaktapur, or the explosion at the municipal office in Patan, in Kathmandu.
The rebels, who have been fighting to topple the Hindu monarchy and set up a communist state in the Himalayan nation, ended their four-month truce saying the government had not matched it.
They have vowed to disrupt Feb. 8 elections for 58 municipal councils and have said they will expand their nearly 10-year-old revolt to Kathmandu and other cities. They had previously targeted mainly rural areas.
Earlier, 16 Maoist rebels and a soldier were killed in the biggest battle in Nepal since the guerrilla ceasefire ended, the army said.
They were killed during a firefight in Syangja, a Maoist stronghold 225 km (140 miles) west Kathmandu, two days after soldiers shot dead 10 rebels in the same area.
posted by Marko at 1/14/2006 09:35:00 AM
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