Friday, January 6 2006 12:42 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Kathmandu: Maoists in Nepal have shot dead three police personnel and injured at least ten civilians, including an Indian, in stepped up violence since withdrawal of their unilateral ceasefire this week.

Three personnel of the Armed Police Force, a paramilitary force, were killed and two wounded when the rebels ambushed a checkpoint on a highway leading to the airport at Nepalgunj, 650 kms west of Kathmandu, yesterday (Jan 06, 2006).

Eight more people were injured in separate attacks by rebels across Nepal yesterday, police said.

In Pokhara, three Royal Nepalese Army personnel and an Indian national were injured when Maoists detonated a powerful bomb targeting an RNA convoy near Mahendrapul market. The bomb attached to a bicycle exploded when the security convoy passed through the area.

The Indian national, who sustained injuries, was identified as Jaynarayan Kushwaha from Motihari, Bihar.

Two policemen and a civilian were injured when the Maoists attacked a police post at Chaman Chowk in Mahendranagar in far west Nepal, The Kathmandu Post reported.

The guerrillas also bombed the Land Revenue Office in Udaypur district, causing damage to the building that belongs to the Chairman of the District Development Committee nominated by the King.

Another bomb exploded at Batasedanda area along the Tansen-Tamghas road in Palpa district injuring a local.