Wednesday, February 15 2006 16:13 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Kathmandu: Maoists attacked a security patrol killing at least three soldiers and injuring two others in Nepal where the rebels also abducted nine people, including five government employees, officials said today (Feb 15 2006).

The Maoists ambushed the security patrol at Bibike village near the border of Palpa and Nawalparasi districts in western Nepal late last night, leading to a gun-battle between the two sides which continued till early this morning.

At least three soldiers were killed and two others injured by the rebels in the incident, an Army official said, adding the Maoists might also have suffered a lot in the hours-long gun-battle.

A search operation has been launched to trace the culprits and the full detail of the incident is yet to arrive, the army said.

Meanwhile, Maoists abducted five government employees, including an Executive Officer of the Local Development Fund from Ramechhap district.

They also abducted four civilians from Kajeri village in Salyan district, police said. In a separate incident, two girls were injured when an unidentified gunman fired at them while they had gone out of their home to fetch water from a pond in Jaleshwor in southern Nepal.

The girls, who were sisters, were immediately rushed to a local health post and later taken to Patna in Bihar for treatment as their condition was said to be critical.