Over 1,000 Maoists storm RNA camp Himalayan News Service A Tibetan horseman showing his skills during a competition in Tsara township, 70 km from Lhasa, on Sunday. Surkhet/Kathmandu, August 8: ? Heavy casualties feared ? 26 Maoists killed ? Over 140 army men ?missing? Over 25 Maoists were killed when 1,400-odd armed rebels attacked a temporary army base-camp at Pili, Danda Village Development Committee, in the remote hill district of Kalikot in Karnali Zone on Sunday evening. Two security personnel, including a second lieutenant, were killed and up to 12 RNA men sustained injuries in clashes that lasted for several hours, claimed district based security officials. Our Nepalgunj correspondent adds that more than 140 security personnel are missing. ?We are looking for the missing security personnel,? Col Tara Pande of RNA Mid-West Division said. Royal Nepalese Army spokesperson Brigadier General Dipak Gurung claimed that 72 security personnel who went missing on Sunday night have already contacted the district headquarters. He added that the commander of the base camp, Lt Col Raju Devkota, had last contacted district headquarters at 6 am on Monday. Brig Gen Gurung, however, did not say how many RNA men had gone missing. According to our Surkhet correspondent, over 250 army men were deployed for the construction of Surkhet-Jumla road. The site of the battle is located about 7 km from Manma, the district headquarters. The defence ministry has stated that reinforcements have been dispatched to the battle site by helicopters to hunt down the insurgents and carry out rescue operation. Gurung said they had received no detailed information about the incident because of lack of communication with the district headquarters and the army base camp. In a press statement, Maoists? western division commander Prabhakar confirmed the killing of 26 Maoists and injuries to others. He claimed that 159 security personnel had been killed and Maoists had abducted 50 RNA men, besides capturing ?a large number of weapons, ammunition and explosives?. Brig Gen Gurung, however, dismissed the Maoists? claims. According to a district based security source, an RNA helicopter landed at the clash site at 4 pm today. Heavy casualties on the Maoists? side were feared following the aerial operation, according to the RNA Mid-West Division. It is feared that some civilians could also have been killed, as there were a number of labourers working on the road. Meanwhile, District Police Office, Kavre, has confirmed the death of two of the seven security personnel who were injured in Kavre after the Maoists attacked the police post located at Tribhuwanchwok in Banepa last evening. Police constables Tikaram Tripathi (23), resident of Sansyukharka VDC of Kavre and Yam Bahadur Khatri (22), resident of Phulpingkot VDC of Sindhupalchwok district, died while undergoing treatment at Banepa based Sheer Memorial Hospital at 8.15 pm last night, said Sher Bahadur Pande, sub-inspector at DPO. The bodies have been handed over to the deceased?s families after the post-mortem, said the police.