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Shirish B Pradhan in Kathmandu
Over 80 rebels, including two top Maoist leaders, were killed, as security forces in Nepal stepped up their land and air offensive against the guerrillas, who last week broke a four-month ceasefire with a string of attacks on the army and police.
Chief Maoist negotiator and deputy chief of the parallel Maoist government, Krishna Bahadur Mahara, and main guerrilla trainer Ram Bahadur Thapa (Badal) were killed in the operations in Rolpa and Jajarkot districts along with some of their men, intelligence sources said.
Nepal Samacharpatra, a national daily, reported that more than 80 rebels were killed on Friday in the two districts.
A defence ministry release was silent on the casualties but said a large number of terrorists were killed when the army fired directly from helicopters on large groups of armed militants in the forests of Jajarkot and Rolpa.
It said a large number of casualties was observed by army men from the helicopter, but the number of deaths could not be estimated.
The security personnel had also seized a large quantity of arms and ammunitions after engaging in exchange of fire with Maoists in several other parts of the country.
Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba on Friday vowed to crush the Maoists and ruled out peace talks with them.
With reports of rebels taking shelter in hotels, lodges, and rented houses, the home ministry had asked the general public to immediately inform the police if they come across any such cases.
PTI
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