Maoist rebels tried to blow up an airport tower in Nepal but missed their target, officials said on Tuesday.
A group of guerrillas threw two bombs at the air traffic control tower at Tumlingtar airfield, 390 km northeast of Kathmandu on Monday night, a home ministry spokesman said. "We have received reports about the bomb attacks by the Maoist rebels on Tumlingtar airport tower," he said. But the bombs missed their targets and caused limited damage, he added.

Before the rebels could throw any further bombs, armed police began firing and chased them away. Nepal has been under a state of emergency since November 26 after the Maoists broke a four-month ceasefire and carried out attacks in various parts of the country which have claimed scores of lives.

Three rounds of peace talks between the Maoists and the government had failed to produce a result, with the rebels insisting on a new constitution for Nepal and an all-party interim government. On Monday the defence ministry said at least 16 Maoists and two soldiers were killed in two separate clashes on Sunday and Monday. Local press reports on Tuesday put the rebel death toll at 24, but the home ministry spokesman said he could not confirm the figure.

The rebels launched their "people's war" in 1996, aimed at forming a Nepalese republic. The insurgency has so far claimed the lives of more than 2,100 people. Bureau Report