Nepali forces destroy Maoist bomb factory

The factory was found Saturday in Devitar village in southern Chitwan district, the Royal Army Directorate said in a statement.

"The local people had tipped off the security forces about the bomb factory," it said, adding that the unit had been set up to supply bombs to rebel forces in Chitwan and western Gorkha and Dhading districts.

"In the course of the operation, the security forces recovered a large cache of explosives including over 2,000 units of socket (homemade) bombs and other improvised explosive devices and a large quantity of raw materials used for making bombs, detonators and safety fuses," it said.

The statement added that some rebels were arrested in the factory but gave no numbers. In addition, the security forces had found foodgrains, clothes and utensils "stockpiled by the terrorists in the factory".

Earlier a Maoist was killed and an unknown number of others injured late Saturday in an exchange of gunfire in western Nepal between the security forces and a group of rebels who were extorting money from a local leader, a spokesman for Western Nepal Army Brigade told AFP.

"In this clash, a soldier was injured," spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Navajit Shumshere Rana said.

Meanwhile, Nepal's Foreign Minister Ramesh Nath Pandey is to head for New Delhi today for discussions with his Indian counterpart on the latest developments in the Himalayan kingdom, a foreign ministry official said.

Pandey will be travelling with senior foreign ministry officials, said foreign secretary Madhu Raman Acharya who will be accompanying him.

Pandey is scheduled to join Indian Foreign Minister Natwar Singh for a working lunch in New Delhi today.

"You have understood the current political situation of Nepal; the meeting will be held on the same topic," Acharya told AFP.

"There is no fixed agenda to be discussed during the meeting. The talks will be held on bilateral issues as well," he added. "This is not an official visit. It is just a working visit."