KATHMANDU (AFP) - A powerful bomb planted by suspected Maoist rebels exploded in a brand new government office block in the centre of the Nepalese capital Kathmandu, injuring 32 people, police said.
The blast occurred on the ground floor of the newly built Civil Servants Provident Fund Office near the army headquarters, a police official said.
"Suspected Maoists left a bag packed with a powerful locally made bomb which went off, injuring some workers ... and some pedestrians waiting outside for three-wheeler autorickshaws," the official said.
The explosion, which was heard some two kilometres (just over one mile) away, shattered windows in the building and damaged rickshaws and a motor cycle outside.
The new office block, built at a cost of more than 60 million rupees (815,000 dollars), has not yet been occupied as new tenants were waiting until after the Hindu Diwali festival this weekend before moving in, a building management official told AFP.
Maoist rebels have been fighting for a communist republic in Nepal since 1996 and the uprising has already claimed more than 10,000 lives.
The rebels and government forces declared a nine-day mutual truce during the Hindu kingdom`s biggest religious festival, Dassain, last month but since it lapsed there has been an explosion of violence across the country.
The bombing marks the first attack in Kathmandu since the end of the truce.
11/09/2004 - 13:32 GMT - AFP