12 security personnel including a police inspector were killed and seven policemen and one civilian were injured in a series of attacks carried out by Maoists in different police posts of the valley on Saturday evening.

These are the first simultaneous attacks in Kathmandu Valley by the Maoists. Last year, the Maoists made an offensive at the Sankhu police station, killing five police personnel.

The Maoists attacked the Police Check Post at Thankot, killing at least 11 policemen, including an inspector and injuring one, by surrounding the check post from all sides at around 5:35 Saturday evening, according to reports.

Those killed are police inspector Mahesh Rawal, sub-inspectors Prakash KC and Ratna Subedi, police constables Ramhari Dahal, Mithu Karki, Surya Man Tamang, Dikendra Karki, Rabin Karki, Baburam Adhikari and a traffic policeman Dipendra Niraula.

Assistant sub-inspector Yadav KC died while on the way to hospital.

“They (the Maoists) appeared all of a sudden in combat dresses in front of my office and shot dead Dipendra Niraula and swarmed the office. They asked for money from the counter. When we didn’t budge, they broke into the office, vandalising the furniture, took the money from the counter and disappeared,” the Himalayan Times daily quoted Ramkumar Karki, staff of Kathmandu Metropolitan City Transportation Tax Depot as saying.

Ajay Thakur, a barber running a shop opposite to the police check post, said he saw a group of at least 40 gunmen getting off a bus and opening indiscriminate firing. “I sneaked inside my shop and remained quiet during the attack. The attack lasted for about half an hour,” he said.

Police personnel were attending the ‘roll call’ when the Maoists opened indiscriminate fire. Police said that the Maoists shot dead policemen on duty as sentries outside the police check post and opened firing at the police personnel attending the ‘roll call’ inside the police office. There were over 40 police personnel when the incident occurred. Some managed to flee during the attack.

Police said that Maoists used Self Loading Rifles, M-16 and Sub-Machine Gun in the attack. They also took away arms and ammunition from the police post.

In another attack, one sub-inspector was killed and seven others injured, including one civilian, when a band of suspected Maoists attacked Dadhikot Area Police Office, Bhaktapur. Sub-inspector Hari Prasad Wagle Sharma was killed in the attack.

Those injured in Bhaktapur are policemen Yubaraj Khatri, Narayan Puri, Nitim Shrestha, Raju Khatri, Pandab Karki, Ram Poudel and Bharat Karki. One civilian Sangeeta Malla was also injured.

A group of over 20 gunmen indiscriminately opened fire at around 6 p.m. Police also retaliated and shot back, police said.

In Bouddha, a group of suspected Moaists exploded a bomb at the office of the Kathmandu Metropolitan City Ward No-6, slightly damaging the building.

The incident occurred at around 7:15 p.m. Police said suspected Maoists also exploded a bomb in front of the house of Tej Jung Thapa, father of the Chief of Army Staff Pyar Jung Thapa at Jorpati. A pressure cooker bomb explosion also took place at Thali in the Saturday evening.

The Maoists exploded bombs at the offices of Madhyapur Thimi Municipality Ward no 1, 2 and 3, damaging the office buildings. The Maoists also blew up the office of Lalitpur Sub-Metropolitan City Ward-9 at Chyasal Saturday evening.

Krishnasenonline, a pro-Maoist news agency, has owned responsibility of Saturday’s attacks at Thankot and Dadhikot and has claimed that there has been no casualty on the part of the rebels.

This is the first major attack by the rebels in the Kathmandu valley after they broke off their four-month-long unilateral ceasefire on January 2.