US embassy cable - 02KATHMANDU529

UNCLAS KATHMANDU 000529 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
LONDON FOR POL/RIEDEL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PTER, ASEC, PHUM, PREL, PINR, NP, Maoist Insurgency 
SUBJECT: MAOISTS AMBUSH VIP SECURITY DETAIL ON MAJOR 
HIGHWAY 
 
REF: KATHMANDU 509 
 
1. (SBU) Maoists ambushed a police security team in 
Sindupalchowk district March 13, killing six officers and 
seriously injuring six others, police sources confirmed. 
Press reports state that the insurgents electronically 
detonated explosives laid in the road.  The attack 
occurred on the Arniko Highway - the main route to the 
Tibet border - about 55 kilometers east of Kathmandu.  The 
22-member police team was on its way to meet and escort 
Parliament Speaker Taranath Ranabhat and State Minister 
for Health Mohan Basnet, who were to travel from the 
capital to a program at a high school in Bahrabise.  The 
two cancelled their trip on learning of the ambush. 
 
2. (SBU) This is the second attack in four days on police 
detailed to guard high-ranking Nepalese officials.  The 
detail attacked March 9 (Reftel) had just completed a VIP 
security assignment. 
 
3. (SBU) Comment:  The insurgents' recent guerrilla 
actions are becoming both more frequent and more daring. 
Both the March 9 and 13 ambushes took place in broad 
daylight.  In each case, however, the police appear to 
have been targets of opportunity; the VIPs were not in the 
area at the time.  Maoists have attacked high-level 
government figures in the past; a February 3, 2001 attack 
on the Chief Justice's convoy killed six.  End Comment. 
 
MALINOWSKI