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66 die in rebel attack on Nepal army camp

76 troops still missing

AFP, Kathmandu
Maoists killed 40 Nepalese soldiers in an all-night battle after attacking an army camp in the country's northwest, the army said yesterday, bringing the death toll to 66 after the rebels said 26 of their fighters were killed.
"The terrorists inhumanely killed
40 security men ... by lining them up and shooting them in their heads," an army statement said, adding that some soldiers were mutilated.
"The security forces are continuing the search for the rebels in the areas from where they are most likely to escape," the statement said.
An army official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said 227
soldiers were at a camp near the town of Kalikot during the clash on Sunday night. Apart from the 40 confirmed killed, 111 had been traced and 76 were still unaccounted for.
The Maoists' western division commander, Prabhakar, said on Monday the clash lasted 11 hoursFROM PAGE 16
and 159 soldiers were killed.
Another 50 troops had been taken prisoner, he said in a statement, and 26 Maoists were killed.
"A search has been launched for the other soldiers as well as the rebels who launched the attack," he said, adding that due to the remoteness of the region, information was difficult to access.
The clash took place overnight Sunday in the northwestern Kalikot region where the soldiers were protecting workers building a highway.
The army has confirmed two Nepalese soldiers were killed and three wounded in the battle.
Another 50 government troops had been taken prisoner, he said in a statement. Twenty-six Maoists were killed, he said.
The communists have been fighting to overthrow the monarchy since 1996, and the uprising has left nearly 12,000 people dead.
King Gyanendra sacked the government and took power in February to try to restore security in the Himalayan kingdom.
The statement was posted on the Maoist's website.
However, Royal Nepalese Army (RNA) spokesman, Brigadier General Dipak Gurung, disputed the high casualty count.
"We deny the terrorists' claims of killing 159 soldiers in western Nepal," Gurung told AFP.
"Seventy of our soldiers have contacted their local commanders in their areas in the west."
The rebel commander's statement was the first claim of responsibility for a major attack since June, when a bus bombing killed 36 people. The rebels said they were targeting security personnel but made a "grave mistake" by killing civilians on the bus.
Prabhakar said that during the Kalikot battle 26 rebels were killed,
including battalion commissar Lokesh. Another 50 government soldiers were taken prisoner and a large quantity of weapons seized, he said.
But his statement did not specify exactly how the 159 government soldiers were killed.
Earlier Monday, an army official said at least two Nepalese soldiers were killed and three wounded when Maoist rebels attacked an army camp in the country's northwest.
The attack on the camp at Pakha village in Kalikot district began Sunday evening and lasted through the night, the official said, requesting anonymity.
"A fairly large number of rebels attacked the newly-set up security camp Sunday evening around 8:30 pm and the gunbattle continued until early Monday morning at 5:00 am," the official said.
"Several rebels are also presumed to have been killed in the clash but the rebels carried away the bodies of their colleagues while fleeing from the scene as reinforcements arrived," he said.
"With the arrival of the massive reinforcement, the security forces launched a manhunt for rebels in and around the area," he said.
The army said about 200 personnel were stationed at the camp, set up to protect workers building the Surkhet-Jumla section of the Karnali Highway.
The communists have been fighting to overthrow the monarchy since 1996 and the uprising has left nearly 12,000 people dead.
King Gyanendra sacked the government and took direct power in February to try to restore security in the Himalayan kingdom.