Twelve soldiers killed in Nepal fighting

At least 12 soldiers were killed fighting communist rebels in Nepal’s remote mountainous east today, officials said.

Another 10 soldiers were wounded and were airlifted to a nearby hospital for treatment, officials said on condition of anonymity.

The soldiers were patrolling near the village of Malbase, about 500 kilometres (310 miles) northeast of the capital, Katmandu, when the rebels ambushed their vehicle with an explosion on the highway, the officials said.

Additional troops were flown to the area on an army helicopter.

It was not immediately known if any rebels were killed in the fighting.

The guerrillas, who say they are inspired by Chinese revolutionary leader Mao Zedong, have been fighting since 1996 to replace Nepal’s monarchy with a communist state, and have launched bolder attacks in recent months. More than 10,500 people have died since the fighting began.

The government has urged the rebels to join peace talks, but they walked out of negotiations last August, withdrawing from a seven-month ceasefire.