Nepal Rebels Kill at Least 38 Police Officers

Maoist rebels attacked police stations in three remote mountain villages in central Nepal, killing at least 38 police officers and seriously injuring two others, officials said Saturday.

The deadliest attack was in Bichaur, a village about 100 miles northwest of Katmandu, when rebels attacked a police station late Friday, killing 22 officers.

Details of the attack were sketchy, but police in Katmandu, the capital, said officers battled with the rebels until Saturday morning.

In another attack, rebels on Friday killed nine police officers and seriously injured two others in Taruka, a village about 50 miles northwest of Katmandu.

Chief district officer Modhraj Dotel said police reinforcements had been sent to the area.

At least seven officers were killed by the rebels in an attack at Bamitaksar in Gumli district, about 190 miles west of Katmandu, lawmaker Gokarna Bista said.

The rebels first surrounded the station at Khambang village, but police officers there fled across a river to Bamitaksar. Rebels pursued them, and a three-hour gun battle ensued. The clash ended when rebels hurled a bomb at the police station, destroying it.

The attacks come just days before a general strike called by the rebels in this Himalayan kingdom and on the eve of King Gyanendra’s 54th birthday Saturday. The rebels oppose the new king, calling him a “puppet of neighboring India and America’s CIA.”

The rebels have stepped up attacks since the June 1 massacre of the royal family, including King Birendra, Queen Aishwarya and other family members, by Crown Prince Dipendra, who then shot himself and later died. The rebels blame Gyanendra for the massacre.

The Maoists want to convert the nation into a republic.