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KATHMANDU, April 24 (AFP) - Maoist rebels have burned down the country home of Nepal's Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, officials said Wednesday, as a strike called by the ultra-leftists brought much of the kingdom to a halt for a second day.

Rebels late Tuesday surrounded the prime minister's residence at Assigram, 490 kilometers (300 miles) west of the capital Kathmandu, said Narendra Raj Sharma, the chief administrator of the Dadeldhura district.

"A group of Maoist terrorists ordered the housekeeper to go out and then blew up Mr. Deuba's house," Sharma told AFP by telephone.

"We have sent a team of policemen to check the extent of the damage," Sharma said.

The attack came at the start of a five-day general strike the Maoists have called to press Deuba to resume talks, which the rebels hope would lead to the abolition of the constitutional monarchy.

Deuba, whose government held three rounds of fruitless talks with the rebels last year, has ruled out new negotiations until the Maoists lay down their arms.

The prime minister has instead reached out for help from abroad against the Maoists, fashioning the crackdown on the far-leftists as part of the international "war on terrorism."

US President George W. Bush's administration Tuesday said it would ask Congress to provide 20 million dollars in military aid to the Himalayan kingdom.

"We reiterate our support for the right of Nepal to safeguard its citizens against these guerrillas within the framework of its own constitution," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said.

Most of Kathmandu was shut down for second day Wednesday, despite government warnings to residents not to observe the strike.

Streets were deserted, with only some office workers riding bicycles to work and children playing in the streets. Almost all shops and markets remained shuttered.

However, some public transportation resumed service after staying off the roads Tuesday. The government has warned transport operators they could lose their licences if they observe the strike.

The home ministry has also authorised security forces to shoot anyone who advocates the strike.

The government estimated the strike was costing the tourism-dependent country one billion rupees (13.4 million dollars) a day.

Visitors to Nepal have dropped sharply since last June, when 10 members of the royal family were massacred by the drunken crown prince.

The Maoists broke a four-month ceasefire with the government in late November, prompting the government for the first time to deploy the army against them.

Some 1,300 people have since died, on top of 1,800 who had already been killed since the start of the Maoists' "people's war" in 1996.

On Tuesday the government offered 64,000 dollars to anyone who brought in three top rebel leaders, dead or alive.

In further violence, Maoists killed two police officers who were providing security Tuesday on the Prithvi highway some 190 kilometers (118 miles) west of Kathmandu, officials said.

The rebels also attacked a hydro-power cable in southwestern Nepal, shutting off electricity for several districts. Additional attacks were reported on an electricity and a telecommunication station.

State-run radio said a group of 100 Maoists also attacked one of its transmitting stations in the southeast of the country.

The strike has caused major inconvenience for 125,000 university students taking final examinations, who have been forced to walk to and from test centers.

The Maoists draw their support base from the countryside of the impoverished kingdom and in some areas have set up a de facto state that administers its own justice system and calls for radical redistribution of wealth. 

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