Nepal: Rebels abduct 11 soldiers as blast mishap kills five more

Nepal’s communist rebels abducted 11 unarmed soldiers as they headed home on holiday while at least five more troops were killed in an unrelated explosives mishap at an army barracks, officials said today.

The soldiers were taken captive on Thursday from Ramdittha village, about 310 miles east of Kathmandu, according to Indresh Dahal, a spokesman for the Royal Nepalese Army.