At least 27 people were wounded when a bomb believed to have been planted by rebels exploded in the Nepali capital on Friday as soldiers killed a dozen rebels across the Himalayan kingdom, police and officials said.
"It's a bomb explosion. Investigations are going on," a police official told Reuters.
A Defense Ministry statement said three soldiers and 24 civilians, including children, were wounded in the blast that occurred near a bridge in a residential area of Kathmandu during the morning rush hour.
"People were rushing to offices and school when it happened," said one witness.
There were fresh blood stains on the ground at the bridge near a market in the Bhimsensthan area though the bridge did not appear to have been damaged, the witness said.
Troops quickly cordoned the area off.
Bhimsensthan is an area not usually visited by tourists, who flock to Nepal for its temples, jungles and mountains, but the district overlooks the famous Swyambhunath temple, a Buddhist shrine on a hillock to the west of the city center.
A doctor at the city's Bir Hospital said 22 of the wounded had been brought to his hospital, some critical condition.
"Some of them have abdomen injuries and others have fractured limbs," he said.
Elsewhere, soldiers shot dead 12 rebels in separate gunbattles over the past 24 hours, a Defense Ministry spokesman said.
Violent campaign
Kathmandu has, in recent months, been hit by a string of small explosions blamed on insurgents waging a violent campaign to set up a one-party, communist republic in the poor nation.
In Washington, US State Department spokesman Philip Reeker urged the rebels to lay down their arms immediately, stop attacks on civilians and pursue their aims peacefully.
"We reiterate our support for the right of the government of Nepal to safeguard its citizens within the framework of the Nepalese constitution," he added.
The rebels, who are fighting to overthrow the constitutional monarchy, have stepped up their attacks in recent weeks and have called for a five-day, nationwide general strike next week to press their campaign.
About 3,000 people have been killed in the conflict since it began in 1996.
The rebels, who usually attack isolated security posts in the Himalayan foothills, abandoned a truce and escalated their campaign in November.
In response, the government declared a state of emergency and for the first time deployed the army to crush the insurgency.
Nepal, one of the world's 10 poorest countries, has appealed for international help to fight the guerrillas and last week its giant neighbor India promised to share intelligence and provide security forces with equipment and training.
The insurgency has hurt Nepal's tourism and further threatened the country's political stability rocked last June after popular King Birendra and other members of the royal family were slain by his son, Prince Dipendra, in a drunken shooting spree. Dipendra killed himself.
(China Daily March 30, 2002)
