Troops in Nepal shot dead 11 Maoist rebels during gunbattles across the troubled Himalayan nation over the past 24 hours, while guerrillas killed a soldier in the west of the country, officials said today.
The rebels are trying to overthrow the country's constitutional monarchy and replace it with a one-party communist republic.
A defence ministry official said rebels shot and killed the soldier yesterday at Rolpa in west Nepal, a rebel stronghold.
Last year, Nepal deployed its army to crush the Maoist revolt, which has claimed more than 7,200 lives since it started in early 1996.
The Maoists are inspired by the revolutionary ideas of the late Chinese communist leader Mao Zedong and are opposed to private enterprises.
The revolt has threatened the stability of Nepal's multi-party democracy and crippled its aid-dependent economy.