Nepalese rebels kill 16 policemen near Katmandu
Maoist rebels in Nepal have killed at least 16 police officers in an attack on a station in the town of Bhakunde, 28 miles east of the capital, Katmandu.
Around 100 rebels attacked the building, which was manned by 50 policemen, sparking a two-hour gun battle which ended with the destruction of the station.
The guerrillas, who are fighting for the abolition of Nepal’s constitutional monarchy, took arms and ammunition from the police before retreating to their stronghold.
Nepal’s security forces have killed at least 400 of the rebels and arrested 500 more since King Gyanendra declared a national emergency in November and ordered the army to crack down on the Maoist insurgency.
More than 130 soldiers and policemen have been killed in the same period.
Nearly 2,300 people have died since 1996, when the Maoists began fighting for the creation of a socialist republic in Nepal.
