Nepalese authorities say heavily armed Maoist rebels have stormed a state-run television station, destroying a transmission tower and equipment. The authorities say no one was injured in the attack Tuesday night in Palpa, some 300 kilometers west of the capital, Kathmandu, but that TV transmission to several districts was cut off.
The Maoists have been attacking government targets since 1996 when they began their fight to replace the constitutional monarchy in the world's only Hindu kingdom with a communist state. More than 11-thousand people have been killed in the conflict. The guerrillas have stepped up their violent campaign since February first, when King Gyanendra seized absolute power and suspended civil liberties in the country. The monarch said it was necessary to quell the Maoist insurgency.