Nepal's defence ministry said on Saturday its troops killed an estimated total of 396 Maoist rebels, fighting to topple the monarchy and establish communist rule, in major military operations over the past two days.
Prime Minister Mr Sher Bahadur Deuba had yesterday rejected an offer from the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) for resumption of peace talks.
It is estimated that up to 350 terrorists may have died in the forceful action by security forces at the hideout and training centre in Rolpa, the defence ministry said in a statement.
The army crackdown in Rolpa, 450 km (280 miles) west of Kathmandu, was the biggest since the rebellion by guerrillas of the communist party began six years ago. The ministry had earlier put the rebel death toll in the district at 50.
Another 40 insurgents were gunned down in Doti, 550 km (340 miles) west of Kathmandu, it added.
Elesewhere in the Himalayan nation troops shot dead six Maoist rebels in separate gunbattles, the ministry said.
The ministry said the estimate was based on information given by local people and injured rebels who were arrested during the operations.
The rebels walked out of talks and broke a truce in November, prompting a state of emergency and the deployment of the army.
The bloody conflict, in which more than 4,000 people have been killed, has threatened the stability of the country's multi-party democracy.
The rebellion that started in early 1996 has crippled Nepal's aid-dependent economy and hit tourism in the scenic nation home to Mount Everest and the birthplace of Lord Buddha.
Nepal is also still recovering from last year's palace massacre in which Crown Prince Dipendra shot dead his father, King Birendra, and most other members of the royal family before killing himself.