Kathmandu, July 23 (SPA) - Nine people were killed in a brief gunbattle in western Nepal after Maoist rebels opened fire from behind bushes at a security patrol, an army officer said on Saturday. Seven soldiers and at least two rebels were killed on Friday in the Maoist stronghold of Dang district, 400 km (250 miles) west of Kathmandu, in what was the biggest attack on security forces in a month. "The Maoists fired at our men from behind bushes in a style which is typical of them," the officer was quoted as saying by Reuters. --SPA 1057 Local Time 0757 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/278544