Six bus passengers were killed in western Nepal on Saturday after suspected Maoist rebels set off a landmine under a roadblock the victims were helping to clear, an army officer said. Eight more passengers were wounded, seven of them critically, the official said.
The incident took place at Surainaka village in Kapilvastu district, about 350 km (220 miles) west of the capital Kathmandu.
At least five soldiers were killed in the same area on Friday in a mine also blamed on the guerrillas, who are fighting to replace the monarchy in the impoverished Himalayan kingdom and establish a one-party communist republic.
Maoist violence has continued unabated since King Gyanendra seized power in February by sacking a coalition government, a move he said was aimed at quelling a bloody nine-year-old revolt in which more than 12,500 people have died.

Copyright Reuters, 2005

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