At least one security man and two others were killed in separate encounters between the security forces and the insurgents in Jhapa and Tehrathum districts, eastern Nepal, on Thursday.

The clash started after armed Maoists attacked a revenue patrol of the Armed Police Force (APF) in Kakadbitta, Jhapa, at around 1:00 p.m., reports said. An APF man and a suspected Maoist cadre were killed in the gunfight while two policemen were injured.

The area remains tense following the shootout while security forces have been mobilised in search of the Maoists.

Meanwhile, a Maoist militant was killed in a security action carried out in Surke area of Tehrathum district Thursday.

A statement issued by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said the Maoist identified as Shri Prasad Limbu was killed on the spot during the encounter.

In another incident, two students of a school in Bajhang district were seriously injured in an IED (Improvised Explosive Device) blast carried out by the Maoists this afternoon, according to the ministry.

Students Lokesh Hamal and Rajan Rajak, students of the Bhojpur Secondary School located in the Bajhang district headquarters, who were injured in the blast, have been taken to a local hospital for treatment, MoD statement added.