Maoist rebels have attacked a remote security post in western Nepal, with more than 100 soldiers and police officers stationed at the base feared dead. 

Authorities say details of the midnight raid near the rebel stronghold of Gam are unclear, because communications were lost with all 105 policemen and 35 soldiers stationed at the government post. 

But regional officials are quoted by the French News Agency as saying the base was torched after a lengthy firefight. The rebel attack follows a week-long government assault on and near a rebel training camp in the region, about 450-kilometers west of the capital, Kathmandu. 

The government says more than 500 Maoists have been killed in the offensive. Those figures have not been independently confirmed. 

The latest rebel attack came as Nepal Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, who is seeking U.S. help in putting down the six-year rebellion, visited the White House. Details of his Tuesday meeting with President Bush have not been revealed, but Mr. Deuba said he was promised further U.S. support in fighting the insurgency. 

The Bush administration has already asked Congress for $20 million in non-combat military aid to the Deuba government. 

Last week, the Maoist movement - which launched its 1996 rebellion in an effort to topple Nepal's constitutional monarchy - said it wanted to resume bilateral peace talks that rebels abandoned in November. But Prime Minister Deuba rejected the rebel offer, saying he will not negotiate until rebels surrender their arms. 

In related developments, Nepal's army said security forces have also regained control of another rural western police post, after fierce fighting in which four policemen and 14 rebels were killed. 

Some information for this report provided by AFP and Reuters. 

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