Kathmandu, Feb 21: At least 10 suspected Maoists were killed and the same number surrendered in the latest crackdown against rebels by Nepalese security forces across the country, defence sources said.
Nepal's security forces gunned down seven Maoists during a clash in Bankatwa village in Banke district, southwest of the capital, they said, adding the firefight began when rebels tried to hurl socket bombs at a security force patrol. In a separate operation, two rebels were killed at Sundarpur Ashoktol of Mahottari district, defence officials said. One of the three Maoists injured in retaliatory action by security forces near Sekuwa bridge of Taplejung district on February 8, succumbed to his injuries, they said. Separately, at least 10 armed Maoists surrendered to the army in the eastern Dhankuta and Pachthar districts on Friday, The Rising Sun daily quoted Home Ministry sources as saying. The Maoist section commander Gagan Bahadur Bharati handed over rifles to the local administration which awarded him Rs 54,000 for handing over arms as per the Government's announcement in December last year, the daily said. Meanwhile, three children were wounded when a bomb left by the Maoists went off at Rakam village in Surkhet district, national news agency (RSS) reported. In Siraha district, the local administration released five persons, placed under house arrest for their alleged involvement in terror activities. Bureau Report