A bomb tore through a government building under construction in the Nepali capital of Katmandu Tuesday, wounding at least 38 people in an attack police suspect was carried out by rebels. 

Three men walked into the office of the Employees Provident Fund and left a bomb on the first floor, a police officer said.

It exploded minutes later, damaging parts of the building and wounding at least 38 people, a police official quoted Kulman Lama, a security guard at the building site, as saying.

No one has taken responsibility for the blast, but police blamed leftist rebels who have been fighting since 1996 to replace Nepal's monarchy.

The injured were workers at the construction site, pedestrians and shoppers at nearby roadside stalls. They were rushed to nearby Bir Hospital for treatment.

Soldiers cordoned off the area and were investigating the explosion.

The blast occurred next to Katmandu's main market, which was crowded with shoppers ahead of a popular Hindu festival that begins today.

The explosion was loud enough to be heard in most parts of the capital. Katmandu's police chief Ashok Shrestha said it was the first major rebel attack in the past few months in the city.

"The mode of operation is the same as used by the local guerrillas," the officer said.

There was no comment from the guerrillas who are fighting to topple Nepal's constitutional monarchy.

It was the biggest attack in Katmandu after a temporary festival truce between rebels and government forces ended last month.

The blast left a crater on the ground floor of the six-story building and damaged two escalators. Twisted metal, and glass shards littered the compound and the street outside.

"It was a very big explosion. We were stunned and could not imagine what it was. There were glass pieces raining down on us," said Dharmendra Yadav, an engineer who worked in the building.

Several pedestrians and a two year-old child playing on the street outside were among the injured.

"There were panic-stricken people running helter-skelter for safety. There was confusion," said Jyoti Shreshta, a housewife who was waiting at a nearby bus stop.

The revolt has claimed more than 10,000 lives since 1996 and scared away tourists, who used to flock to the world's only Hindu kingdom.

The blast in Katmandu came a day after King Gyanendra called for an end to the revolt, saying Nepali did not want to live in violence.

(China Daily November 10, 2004)