Six killed as Maoists try to loot money in Nepal

Six people, including two security personnel were killed in a shootout in when Maoists tried to loot a cash-laden bank vehicle.

Six people, including two security personnel and three Maoists, were killed in a shootout in eastern Nepal when Maoist guerrillas tried to loot a cash-laden bank vehicle.

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Reports said the rebels on Wednesday afternoon attacked a van carrying cash from the Rastriya Banijya Bank in Urlabari town in Morang district, about 400 km east of Kathmandu.

But their bid was foiled by security forces escorting the cash.

As both sides began firing, two Armed Police Force personnel inside the van and three Maoists were killed. A civilian caught in the crossfire also died.

In a separate incident, the guerrillas were reported to have seized six trucks carrying food items worth over four million Nepalese rupees.

The trucks, belonging to one of Nepal's best-known business houses, the Dugar group, were heading for Nepalgunj in midwestern Nepal from Biratnagar in the east.

The banned Maoist trade union, the All Nepal Trade Union Federation, reportedly claimed responsibility for the highway robbery.

The organisation was also responsible for the kidnapping earlier this year of three staffers employed by ITC's joint venture Surya Nepal.