Maoists abduct 1,500 in Nepali strife: Army

"The five Maoists were killed in an encounter during search operations carried out by the security forces in Rauthat district on Thursday," an army official said on condition of anonymity.

The brief clash Thursday afternoon saw no army casualties and took place around 310km east of Kathmandu, the official said.

The rebels, who have been fighting a bloody "people's war" for the last decade, this week abducted 1,500 in Rukum district, the rebel heartland, the army official said.

"The rebels took away one person from every household to make roads," the army official said.

Human rights groups frequently accuse the rebels of abducting people for indoctrination, to use as human shields and to work on Maoist projects. They are usually released unharmed soon after.

On Thursday, three soldiers and a police officer were killed when Maoists detonated a bomb at a security post in Ghorahi, 380 kilometres (235 miles) west of the capital, said the official from army headquarters.

Meanwhile, Nepal's king should enlist sidelined political parties and restore democracy, a senior US official said at the end of a two-day visit to the country.

Donald Camp, principal deputy assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian affairs, met King Gyanendra and political leaders he ousted after seizing power last year in what he said was a bid to quash a Maoist rebellion.