In what is seen as a major success for Royal Nepalese Army (RNA) troops in counter insurgency operations in the mid western Bardiya district, bodies of nearly 50 Maoists have been recovered from the battle site, latest reports said.

According to the DPR at the Royal Nepalese Army Headquarters, security forces recovered 46 Maoist bodies from the battle site Tuesday afternoon.

Four security men -two soldiers and police each- were killed in the battle. Seventeen including five civilians were injured in the incident on Monday, reports said.

Security forces also recovered several sophisticated arms and ammunitions from the Maoist insurgents near the site at Mahammadpur VDC of the district, reports added. The Maoist casualty is the biggest since the Royal proclamation on February 1.