Nepalese rebels kill 104

Maoist rebels in Nepal have killed at least 104 soldiers and policemen last night and today in simultaneous attacks across the country, a senior army officer said.

Fourteen rebels were killed in the attacks, which were in retaliation for a massive government air and land assault on suspected guerilla bases.

More than 100 soldiers were killed in the remote western village of Gam, where approximately 500 rebels overran a joint army-police base last night, the officer said.

Gam is a stronghold of Maoist insurgents who have been fighting Nepal’s constitutional monarchy since 1996.

Meanwhile, the army regained control of a police camp seized by the guerrillas in the town of Chainpur, about 240 miles east of Kathmandu.

Four police officers were killed and soldiers recovered 14 rebel bodies in Chainpur, the officer said.

Army helicopters ferried reinforcements to Gam after dawn today, but bad weather forced the aircraft to turn back without landing, he said.

The attack was already under way when Nepalese Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and US President George Bush began a meeting in Washington to discuss efforts against terrorism.

The Bush administration has asked Congress for €22m in non-military aid for Nepal.

‘‘Nepal is fighting a Maoist rebellion, and Nepal is an example, again, of a democracy, and the United States is committed to helping Nepal,’’ White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said yesterday.

Officials said at least 560 rebels have been killed in the biggest military operation against the rebels since they launched their insurgency to overthrow the Himalayan kingdom’s constitutional monarchy in 1996.

Nepal’s army last week launched a huge air and ground assault on the suspected Maoist training camp on a mountain in Lisne.

The government had received information that about 1,500 Maoist guerillas were assembling in the area.

A senior army official said later that the rebels killed at least 104 soldiers and police officers in simultaneous attacks last night and today.