Three civilians died in an explosion set off by suspected Maoists at a private home in Itahari Sunday in continuing violence unleashed by rebels Friday night breaking a four-month truce to end a communist insurgency that has claimed more than 1,900 lives in nearly six years, police said.

The teenager son of Krishna Ghimere was among the killed. Police nabbed two Nepali workers traveling in an Indian registered bus returning home to Butwal from New Delhi Sunday at Sathauli customs in Kapilvastu district Sunday trying to smuggle in a huge cache of explosives, detonators and fuse wires, customs officials said.

Maoists overnight blew up buildings at the 2.4MW Russian built Panauti hydel power house in the 1960’s as a gift to Nepal 40kms east of the capital causing damage estimated at Rs.6 million, police said.

Chief of the Army Staff Gen. Prajwalla SJB Rana cut short his week-long visit to Germany and returned home Sunday. Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba Sunday paid his last respects to 14 soldiers killed in a Maoist attack on an army barrack at Ghorai in Dang Friday while consoling injured soldiers at Birendra Military Hospital.

Meanwhile, 14 policemen reinforcements sent to Syangjha from Pokhara were injured, two seriously, in an ambush laid by rebels along the Siddhartha Highway Friday night, police said. Army and police personnel have removed booby traps along the highway re-opening the road to traffic Saturday.

Fourteen policemen were killed in Syangjha and more than a dozen were injured in the district 120kms west of the capital when Maoists broke a truce and killed more than 40 persons in bloody violence beginning Friday.

Maoists have hit targets in more than 20 of the nation’s 75 administrative districts after taking up arms again. In another development, IGP Pradip SJB Rana was admitted to Norbic Hospital in the capital Sunday, sources said. The hospital specializes in heart treatment.