Nine people, including four civilians, have been wounded in a string of attacks launched by Nepal's anti-monarchy Maoist rebels. The attacks come just days after the rebels ended a four-month truce.Two police officers and a civilian have been hurt in a shooting in the town of Mahendranagar, the largest in the district of Kanchenpur, a rebel stronghold 650 kilometres west of the capital, Kathmandu. "Eight police officers were on their way to replace their colleagues when the Maoists fired on them," a police officer said. One officer was hit in the stomach and the other in the chest. A 62-year-old passer-by was also wounded.
Hours later, the Maoists set off a bomb in the tourist town of Pokhara, wounding three soldiers. One civilian was also hurt in the blast.
In the third attack, two men walked into a government office in Biratnagar and left a bomb after telling employees to flee. "Minutes later, the bomb went off [injuring] two people," local journalist Bickram Niraula said.
The Army says soldiers have also defused a bomb containing 15 kilograms of explosives in a government office in Dhangadhi in west Nepal. It says the Maoists "are trying to terrorise people" by placing bombs in public places.