Kathmandu, February 17
Carrying out their deadliest attack, Maoist rebels overnight killed 134 persons, including 129 security personnel, in two separate assaults in Nepal, losing more than 100 of their cadres in counter offensive.

Heavily armed Maoists launched surprise attacks on government buildings setting some of them on fire in the town of Mangalsen, headquarters of Achham district, 750 km from Kathmandu, and the nearby airport.

According to the Defence Ministry, 57 soldiers of the Royal Nepalese Army, guarding the headquarters, 72 police personnel, four government officials and one civilian were killed in the attack, the worst in seven years of Maoist insurgency in the Himalayan kingdom.

Chief District Officer Mohan Singh Khatri, Intelligence Officer Lokrai Upreti and his wife and a post office staff were among those killed.

In another attack, the rebels shot dead four policemen in the Lalbandi area of Sarlahi district last night. The terrorists also destroyed a police post and looted some weapons and communication sets.

Giving details of the attack in Mangalsen, official sources here said that government forces launched a counter-offensive and fought a pitched battle with the Maoists after midnight that continued till this morning.

An official press note said a police reinforcement rushed to Mangalsen was delayed due to bad weather and mountainous terrains. It said there could be major casualties on the rebel side as their bodies were seen being taken by their fellow cadres.

Official sources estimated the casualty on the rebel side as high as nearly 200.

Ten policemen and one army man who sustained injuries in the attacks have been shifted to the capital for treatment.

The government buildings that were set on fire included a post office, district administration office and district police office, officials here said.

The guerrillas used their weapons that they had looted from Dang army barracks three months ago while carrying out their attack in Achham.

The government declared an emergency on November 26 and ordered the army to join the fight against the rebels after they ended a four-month-long ceasefire and resumed attacks on government targets.

The overnight attack came at a time when Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba is seeking support from the opposition parties in Parliament to endorse the proclamation of the emergency and to extend it for another three months.