At least ten security personnel were killed Thursday in an ambush laid by the rebels at Hatiya midway between Phurkechaur and Damar, 15 Km east of Heatauda, police said.
Among the 10 dead were seven soliders and three policemen. Five soldiers and three policemen were also injured in the ambush, security sources said.
According to the police, the security patrol comprising of 17 soldiers and four policemen was heading towards Hatiya VDC-7 in a van to inspect the forest check post that had been set ablaze by the Maoists Wednesday when they got trapped in the ambush.
Among those killed were two policemen and the rest were army soldiers. The injured security personnel were airlifted to Kathmandu for treatment.