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Shirish B Pradhan in Kathmandu
In a major setback to Maoist rebels, at least 60 of them have been killed and scores of others injured in an encounter with the security forces in Rolpa district, 500 km west of Kathmandu.
Four armymen were also killed, and eight injured in a seven-hour long encounter on Saturday night in Ratmate of Rolpa district, defence spokesman Bhola Silwal said on Sunday.
This is the first major incident after the Salleri encounter, when the rebels suffered huge casualties.
The army deployed in the area successfully encountered a large group of Maoists, who tried to destroy the repeater station of Nepal Telecommunication Corporation in Ratmate, Rolpa, the spokesman said.
During the attack, the Maoists used latest weapons looted from Dang army barrack two weeks ago.
The army recovered three light machine guns and some other weapons. In another encounter in Chaughada of Nuwakot district, the army personnel killed two Maoist rebels and arrested 25 others.
"After last night's encounter in Rolpa, some 50-60 dead bodies were found scattered in the area... the Maoists took away the bodies of some of their dead and injured comrades, which made the counting of exact number of deaths impossible," Silwal said.
The wounded armymen were flown to the capital for treatment.
The army patrolling team also repulsed an attack launched by a group of terrorists in Chaughada of Nuwakot district on Saturday.
During the encounter, two terrorists were killed and 25 arrested.
The security personnel on Saturday also arrested another 19 suspected rebels from different places including Panchmane in Kathmandu.
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