More than 300 people are reported to have been killed in western Nepal as Maoist rebels and government forces battle for control of a guerilla stronghold. In a statement Thursday Nepal's defense ministry estimated that some 250 rebels had been killed, along with 104 soldiers and police, after Maoist fighters captured a security post in Gam early Wednesday. The numbers could not be confirmed because journalists have no access to the war zone. The rebel attack followed a massive offensive by the Nepalese army that began last week. In that operation, the army said they had killed hundreds of rebels, a claim that also could not be independently corroborated.