Bomb blast rocks Nepali party offices

A security guard mans a post in front of the Nepalese parliament house

KATHMANDU, Nepal (CNN) -- A bomb blast has rocked the party offices of Nepal's prime minister in Kathmandu.

Sher Bahadur Deuba was not in the Nepali Congress party offices at the time of the blast, which injured at least eight people -- two seriously -- his adviser Ratan Aiyar told CNN.

No one has yet claimed responsibility for the bomb, which the government believes was planted by Maoist rebels in a desperate attempt to thwart elections scheduled for November 13.

Nepal's government has battled a Maoist insurgency since 1996. The rebels are trying to overthrow the constitutional monarchy

Last month, the embattled prime minister called for parliament to be dissolved because his own party was unwilling to listen to his arguments on why emergency rule was still needed to control the raging Maoist rebellion.

The move allowed Deuba to rule by decree until elections scheduled for November 13.

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Deuba said he took the action because he believed Maoist rebels still endanger the country's security and the current state of emergency was due to expire.

Deuba's supporters are now locked in a dispute with the party's president Girija Prasad Koirala over control of the Nepali Congress party, which has ruled for most of the 10 years since democracy was restored.

More than 2,500 people have died in Nepal since the Maoists embarked on their "people's war" campaign in 1996.

More than half have died during the past five months as the army joined police in rooting out rebel hideouts in remote mountainous areas.

King Gyanendra imposed the state of emergency last November, suppressing press freedom and giving soldiers and police powers to detain without charge people suspected of supporting the rebels.

The emergency was declared after the rebels withdrew from stalemated peace talks and resumed attacks on police stations and government targets.

-- CNN correspondent Suman Pradhan contributed to this report