One person has been killed and two others injured in a bomb explosion in Nepal.

The injured have been rushed to hospital

District official Umesh Pandey

Suspected Maoist rebels are believed to have carried out the attack which took place in Banepa, north-east of the capital, Kathmandu.

But there has been no word from the rebels or from anyone else.

The bomb had been placed in a rubbish container in front of a telecommunications tower.

"One person was killed when a bomb went off on Friday morning and the injured have been rushed to hospital," district official Umesh Pandey told Reuters.

Protest

The attack comes ahead of a general strike next week called by the Maoists.

The rebels have called the strike to protest against last month's move by King Gyanendra to assume full executive powers and appoint a new prime minister after dismissing the administration of Sher Bahadur Deuba.

The new premier, Lokendra Bahadur Chand has offered to hold talks with the rebels to end the long-running Maoist insurgency.

But the rebels have stepped up their attacks in recent weeks.

Official figures place the number of dead at more than 7,000 since the Maoist insurgency was launched in 1996 to replace the constitutional monarchy with a communist republic.

More than 5,000 of those killed are said to be rebels.

The bitter conflict, which began in 1996, and has slowly spread across much of the kingdom, has left Nepal's main industry - tourism - in tatters.