NEPAL: At least 140 Maoist rebels were killed when Nepalese security forces stormed two guerrilla training camps in mountainous areas, officials said.
nepalThe offensive came days before the Himalayan kingdom's prime minister is due in Washington to appeal for military support to quash the uprising, which has intensified in recent months.
Troops were combing the Lisne area of Rolpa, some 298 km west of Kathmandu, when they were ambushed on Thursday by Maoists, state minister for home affairs Mr Devendra Raj Kandel said.
A home ministry official said more than 100 rebels were killed in Rolpa, where the Maoists launched their "people's war" in 1996 to topple the constitutional monarchy. Another 40 rebels died when the army attacked a training camp, the defence ministry said.
The Nepali-language daily Kantipur added one soldier was killed and three other personnel, a soldier and two policemen, were seriously wounded.
The assault is one of the deadliest battles in the Maoists' six-year uprising.
Next Tuesday Mr Sher Bahadur Deuba is due to make the first visit by a Nepalese prime minister to the White House. He will discuss with President Bush ways to quell the Maoist insurgency, which has left more than 3,200 people dead.
The Bush administration has already asked Congress to approve $20 million in military aid to Nepal.
The Maoists exert de-facto control in parts of Nepal's impoverished countryside, where they have promised radical redistribution of wealth.
The leadership has appealed for dialogue, but Mr Deuba reiterated yesterday there would be no peace talks until the rebels laid down their weapons.