Nepal's PM faces first Maoist test

The Maoist rebels have shot down an army helicopter and injured 3 soldiers

KATHMANDU, Nepal -- Nepal's Maoist rebels have gunned down 15 police officers in west Nepal, providing the first test for the country's new prime minister.

The attack came just hours after Sher Bahadur Deuba was named Nepal's new prime minister, succeeding Girija Prasad Koirala.

Koirala stepped down last week over his failure to quell an insurgency by Maoist rebels and was also under attack following the June 1 massacre of the royal family.

The 55-year-old Deuba was elected on the back of his promise to sort out the Maoist rebels, who are trying to topple the country's constitutional monarchy and replace it with a communist state.

But Deuba faced his first test on Monday after Sunday's killings were blamed on the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) rebels.

The rebels have killed dozens of policemen in a string of deadly attacks and kidnappings over the past few weeks as they make the most of the confusion reigning in the country since the palace killings.

Talks

EXTRA INFORMATION Nepal's Royal Killings     COUNTRY PROFILE At a glance: Nepal Provided by CountryWatch.com    CNN.com Asia More news from our Asia edition

Koirala had been criticized for failing to deal properly with the royal massacre when Crown Prince Dipendra killed his parents and nine other relatives before shooting himself.

The Maoists, despite being avowed anti-monarchists, refuse to believe the prince killed his family and have intensified violent activities saying the royal killing was a conspiracy.

After being elected by the party as Prime Minister, Deuba -- who is considered a more flexible leader -- said he wanted to hold talks with the rebels to stop the violence, saying ending the insurgency was his top priority.

"I will try to evolve a common approach with the opposition parties in parliament and outside and call the Maoists for talks," he told reporters.

The rebels, who draw inspiration from Peru's Shining Path guerrillas, have long demanded the resignation of Koirala, who had taken a tough stand against them.

The Maoists vowed to hold peace talks if Koirala stepped down and they say prospects of talks with the new government depend on its policies towards them.

Tough times

Koirala promised to stamp out the bloody Maoist rebellion

But Deuba faces a tough challenge. The Maoists have been holding 80 policemen capture for some time.

Officials say the rebels have released only 22 of them after human rights activists pressed for their freedom on humanitarian grounds. And on Sunday, the rebels attacked a police post at Pandusen village in Bajura district, about 600 km (375 miles) west of Kathmandu.

"Fifteen policemen have been killed. A rescue team has reached the site and details are awaited," a top police official told Reuters on Monday.

"Police fought for more than three hours with the rebels before suffering the casualties," district official Lakshmi Saran Ghimire told Reuters by phone.

The bloody five-year-old Maoist rebellion has killed more than 1,600 people.

Reuters contributed to this report.