Maoists storm Nepal army check post
3 killed in fighting, Americans urged to avoid Nepal trip
Afp, Kathmandu
Hundreds of Maoist rebels stormed an army check post in Nepal's far southwest, sparking fierce clashes which left at least three people dead, the army said yesterday. The army launched an air and land counter-attack after the raid late Friday and intense fighting continued until dawn Saturday, army spokesman Gopal Thapa said. "At least two Maoists and a soldier were killed when the terrorists attacked the army checkpost at Rambhapur" at the Royal Bardiya National Park, Thapa said. Troops found the bodies of two guerrillas and Thapa said there were reports from the remote area that "at least 60 terrorists may have been killed in the clash but their bodies were carried away by their comrades." The Maoists, fighting to replace the monarchy with a one-party communist state, usually carry away their dead in a bid to conceal the identity of the guerrilla network. Thapa denied reports that nine troops died in the attack Bardiya, 535km southwest of Kathmandu, in which he said the rebels threw homemade bombs.
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