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40 Nepalese soldiers die in clash

KATHMANDU: The Nepalese army said on Tuesday it recovered at least 40 bodies of soldiers killed by communist rebels in fierce fighting with Maoist insurgents in Nepal's remote mountainous northeast.

The Royal Nepalese Army, in a statement, said the soldiers appeared to have been lined up and then shot in the head execution style. ``The terrorists lined up 40 soldiers who had been captured and shot them on the head and cut off parts of their bodies,'' the statement said.

Troops also found 111 soldiers who had been missing since hundreds of guerillas attacked an army base camp on Sunday night. There were roughly 200 soldiers at the camp when it came under attack near the village of Tilli, in Kalikot district, 550 km northwest of Kathmandu. Earlier, the rebel commander in the region, known only as Prabhakar, said the guerillas had killed 159 soldiers and taken at least 50 hostage during the attack on the camp.

In an E-mail sent to news organisations, he also said 26 Maoist rebel fighters were killed and a number had been injured in the battle. — AP

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