NEPAL: MAOISTS ATTEMPT TO KILL BRIGADIER GENERAL,

C O N F I D E N T I A L KATHMANDU 001727 SIPDIS DEPT FOR SA/INS, S/CT, AND DS ISLAMABAD FOR AMBASSADOR POWELL LONDON FOR POL/GURNEY NSC FOR MILLARD E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/29/2013 TAGS: PTER PGOV NP SUBJECT: NEPAL: MAOISTS ATTEMPT TO KILL BRIGADIER GENERAL, NARROWLY MISS REF: KATHMANDU 567 Classified By: Ambassador Michael E. Malinowski for reasons 1.5 (b) and (d). ¶1. (SBU) At 14:30 on August 4, Maoists attempted to kill Fifth Brigade Commander, Brigadier General Gaurav SJB Rana, while in a vehicle convoy driving from his command headquarters in Dipayal, Doti (in Nepal's Far-West Development Region) south to Dhanghadi. Two pipe bombs were used in the attack. The devices were set back ten-feet from the road with the first charge placed four-feet off the ground and the second placed two-feet off the ground. The first charge detonated after the lead car in the three-vehicle convoy had passed, while the second explosive misfired. Rana, in the second vehicle, survived when he swerved away from the first explosion. Rana's escorts opened fire on a Maoist position above the ambush site, causing the group there to flee. His vehicle was damaged, but no personnel were injured. ¶3. (SBU) Rana, in a phone call to the Ambassador September 5, commented that his ears were still ringing from the explosion. He credits his escape with the failure of the second charge to detonate, his quick reaction shielded his vehicle from the blast which mostly passed overhead, and the immediate return fire of his staff officer. A Maoist firing position located forty feet above the road among rocks and trees was well selected. Upon inspection, it appeared that the attackers had been in position for several days, placing pine needles on the ground to keep them out of the mud. Rana believes that the poor quality of the explosives led to the failure of the second charge to fire. He thought that no more than three Maoists were involved in the attack. According to Rana, the location has a history of ambushes due to the terrain. He continued that these ambushes also took place before the break in the cease-fire. ¶3. (C) Comment: The Ambassador and DATT visited Rana at his command March 23-25 to inspect a JCET exercise on counterinsurgency. Rana is a dedicated U.S.-trained officer (he is a graduate of the U.S. Army Command and Staff College at Fort Leavenworth),he is an old and close friend of the Ambassador, and his traditionally influential family has been most valuable contacts of the Embassy for many years. (He is the son of the late General Adyt and Sunita Rana.) Had the attack succeeded, Rana would have been the highest ranking officer in the Royal Nepal Army killed since the beginning of the insurgency. MALINOWSKI