The charred remains of a truck that was set ablaze by the Maoists on the highway to Birtamode, eastern Nepal, on Tuesday. Telegraph picture by Kundan Yolmo

Birtamode (Nepal), March 21: Maoist rebels killed nine policemen, including three officers, during an early morning attack on a police post here today.

Three Maoist rebels were also killed after their vehicle overturned at Garamuni, 4 km from Birtamode.

According to witnesses, about 150 Maoists entered Birtamode, 20 km from the border town of Kakarvitta and 500 km southeast of Kathmandu, in two trucks. They launched attacks on the district police station and the district traffic police office in the heart of the town. The police were caught off guard and had little time to retaliate.

The Maoist operation began at 7.10 am (IST) and continued till 8 am (IST). Eight police personnel were killed in the skirmish at the police station, including assistant sub-inspectors Bir Bahadur Tamang and Khem Basnet. Assistant sub-inspector Shyam Karki was killed at the traffic police office, 200 metres from the police station .

“I was on duty outside the traffic police office when the rebels arrived in a truck. Two of them got down from the truck and yelled out before firing at the ASI who was standing near the office gate. Immediately, others jumped from the truck, but before they could get at me, I ran for my life. Some of them followed me for some distance, but I entered a bylane and hid in a shop,” said a visibly shocked traffic policeman who did not want to reveal his identity.

The ASI was the only casualty among the traffic personnel. It was the regular policemen who suffered the maximum casualties.

Before launching their attack on the town, the rebels had cut-off all entry points to Birtamode. They set a truck on fire on the east-west highway to prevent reinforcements from reaching the town from the eastern headquarters of the Royal Nepalese Army in Charali, 6 km from Birtamode.

Elsewhere in Nepal, 20 Maoists were killed during a search operation carried out by security forces in Darechowk area of Dhading district, 80 km west of Kathmandu, today. The forces launched the attack after a tip-off that a large number of armed Maoists had gathered in the area, an army official said.

The two sides exchanged fire but, according to the army, they did not suffer any casualties.

Twenty dead bodies of the rebels have so far been recovered, the army said. The security forces also recovered arms and ammunitions from the area.

In a separate incident, Maoists attacked the Ilaka police post in Bhanuchowk area of Dharan in eastern Nepal killing at least one policeman, the army said