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In continuing violence in Nepal, Maoists attacked and destroyed the district administration building in Solukhumbu on Sunday night, killing a top official and 11 securitymen and losing 150 rebels in an overnight gunfight with the government forces.
About 150 Maoists were killed in the fierce gunbattle between the guerrillas and the government troops, Minister of State for Home, Devendra Raj Kandel, said, adding the encounter continued till Monday morning.
The rebels attacked and destroyed the Phaplu airport tower in Salleri and later struck at the Solukhumbu district administration office late on Sunday night.
The Maoists struck at the residence of chief administrative officer of Solukhumbu district, Buddhisagar Tripathi, and killed him.
They also took away about Rs 1.2 million worth of cash and gold from Agricultural Development Bank and Rashtriya Banijya Bank.
Police and army personnel retaliated and chased the rebels even as additional forces, including army troops, were rushed to the spot.
Helicopters and aircraft were also reportedly used in the operations. Four military personnel and at least seven policemen are to have died in the clashes, home ministry sources said.
Meanwhile, about 20 Maoist cadres, including politburo member Ravindra Shrestha and his wife Laxmi Shrestha, were arrested from Baghbazar in Kathmandu on Sunday night, according to a local radio -- Kantipur FM.
The government, however, has not yet confirmed the report, though it accepted that some arrests were made.
Related Report: Maoists burn DPS school bus, ambush police vehicle; 7 killed Nepalese Maoists massacre 50 securitymen The hijack and the Kathmandu connection
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