Maoist rebels and army soldiers clashed overnight in western Nepal, leaving 19 dead in the latest flare-up in the communist insurgency in the Himalayan kingdom, officials said Sunday. Ten soldiers and nine rebels were killed in the fighting, an army officer at the site said on the customary condition of anonymity. The clash took place near Pandon village in Kailali district, 450 kilometers (280 miles) west of the capital, Katmandu, the officer said. The bodies of the rebels had been recovered, he said.
