Four armed policemen and the driver of the vehicle that was carrying the security personnel to Surkhet from Nepalgunj were killed when the vehicle caught in an ambush laid by rebels of the underground  Nepal Communist Party (Maoist), Saturday evening, police said. There were 46 policemen in the truck on way to Surkhet.

The team of armed policemen were being deployed there following the Maoist attack in Surkhet airport in which a helicopter was blown up. The incident took place in Harredanada between Nepalgunj and Surkhet. Five died on the spot and several others have sustained injuries, a couple of them seriously, police said.

The injured policemen are undergoing treatment in Nepalgunj hospital. Maoist rebels have intensified their attacks in which more than 45 people have been killed.