Hundreds of Maoist rebels stormed a mountainous town in Nepal's northwest, bombing government buildings and killing one soldier, as they kept up a blockade on roads surrounding the capital for a fifth day Sunday. Hundreds of guerrillas surrounded Khalanga, 600 kilometers (375 miles) northwest of Katmandu, around midnight and bombed the police station, the land revenue office, the local jail and an administrative building, an army official said. Army helicopters fired from the air chasing the attackers, and soldiers pursued them on the ground in the remote mountainous region of the Himalayan nation, the official said. Officials said the army had taken control of the town and were searching for the attackers by air and land. Soldiers recovered the body of one rebel from nearby jungle and said eyewitnesses saw the rebels carrying away at least a dozen wounded guerrillas. The rebels have taken hostage at least six policemen and six other government workers including the chief of the revenue office. Three inmates were also set free after they attacked the local jail.
