Five people were wounded as Nepal's Maoist rebels carried out a string of attacks today only days after they ended a four-month truce, police said.
Two police officers and a civilian were 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, two men walked into a government office in Biratnagar, a city 500 kilometres east of Kathmandu, and left a bomb after telling employees to flee.
"Minutes later, the bomb went off [injuring] two people," said a local journalist.
In the tourist town of Pokhara, Nepal's second city, another bomb was detonated, but no one was hurt.
On Monday, the rebels - who have been fighting since 1996 to topple the Hindu monarchy and set up a single-party communist state - ended a four-month unilateral ceasefire after accusing government forces of provoking the move.
The government said troops were on alert across the country to avert further attacks by the Maoists.
King Gyanendra appointed the government after he seized total control in February, vowing to crush the insurgency, which has killed more than 12,500 people.