At least two Maoists were killed in an encounter between the security forces and the insurgents in Naumule area of Dailekh district on Tuesday.

A Maoist area in-charge named Man Bahadur Basnet alias Malika and Dal Bahadur Rana alias Karmath were killed when security forces retaliated against their attack this afternoon, a statement issued by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said.

The clash ensued when the Maoists lobbed socket bombs targeting a security patrol, the statement added.

Meanwhile, the Maoists have abducted over 250 youths from various VDCs in the mid-western district of Rolpa.

The MoD statement said the rebels marched the youths from Sirsha, Badachour and Pang VDCs towards an unknown location on Saturday. nepalnews.com mk Apr 04 06