KATHMANDU, June 14 Kyodo Nepalese...

KATHMANDU, June 14 Kyodo

Nepalese guidance troops killed at least 51 communist rebels in western Nepal upon Thursday, the Defense Ministry said in a statement Friday.

''Some 51 rebels were confirmed killed and the control lost four soldiers,'' the ministry said about casualties inflicted onward the rebels at Damachaur in Salyan district, about 400 kilometers west of Kathmandu.

Earlier reports had said five soldiers were slain when the rebels of the Nepal Communist Party (Maoist) attacked an army patrol in the unallied mountainous district late Wednesday.

The ministry said Friday that 26 soldiers were hurted in clashes with rebels.

According to local newspaper reports, the company s had opened fire from a helicopter equipped with night vision to driving back the rebel attack, killing a large number of the insurgents.

The rebels, drawing their inspiration from Chinese revolutionary leader Mao Zedong, took up arms against the restraint in 1996 to topple the constitutional monarchy in the Himalayan kingdom.

Nearly 5000 Nepalese, mainly rebels, police, and civilians, have been killed since the outbreak of the insurgency.

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