Bomb blast kills five in Nepal

Bomb blast kills five in Nepal

NEPAL: A bomb blast killed five civilians on Monday near Nepal's capital, witnesses said, even as the government reported making inroads into rebel-controlled areas and the surrender of more than 300 of the ultra-leftists.

Witnesses said four people placed a suspicious package outside a Tibetan carpet shop at Jyawalakhel, eight kilometers (five miles) south of Kathmandu, and then left. The blast killed five pedestrians, they said.

A home ministry spokesman, however, confirmed only one death from the blast, which he blamed on Maoist rebels who want to "create panic in Kathmandu."

The blast came as security forces reported a relative decrease in the number of ambushes by Maoists as proof that their campaign against the rebels was bearing fruit. --AFP