KATHMANDU -- Nepal's security forces said Saturday they had killed 27 Maoist rebels in the wake of a major guerrilla offensive that left more than 150 people dead and set back hopes of peace talks.

After the guerrillas ransacked the headquarters of the northeastern district of Jumla early Friday, the army said it killed seven Maoists when the government regained control several hours later.

Nine more rebels died in scattered skirmishes across the kingdom Saturday, state radio reported.

Prime Minister Lokendra Bahadur Chand's cabinet, which was appointed October 11 by King Gyanendra after the monarch dismissed the elected government, met in emergency session, AFP reported.

But senior officials, who had just days earlier expressed hopes of peace talks with the Maoists, avoided comment on the Maoists' assault, the deadliest since the government took power.

Political analysts said the government faced two unattractive options -- mounting a counteroffensive against a well-entrenched rebel network, or going ahead with peace talks, which could be viewed as a defeat. On Friday, top rebel negotiator Krishna Bahadur Mahara said in an interview with CNN that talks would come soon on the Maoists' terms and that "the king's army will not fight for very long."

Nepal's police chief Pradeep Shumsher Rana overnight traveled to Jumla district, 410 kilometers (250 miles) northeast of Kathmandu, where he reported a scene of utter destruction.

"Almost all the government buildings and offices were set on fire by the Maoists, who suddenly attacked," Rana told state television.

"But the Maoists could not take control of the army barracks because our men fought very bravely," he said.

Rana said residents told him more than 150 Maoists may have been killed, but so far the bodies of 55 rebels have been found.

Thirty-five policemen were also killed along with three civilian officials, including chief district officer Damodar Pant, who died when they took shelter in an army bunker the Maoists torched.

Rana said the Maoists also looted a bank and made off with two million rupees (51,000 dollars).

The Maoists simultaneously launched an attack in the western district of Gurkha, King Gyanendra's ancestral home, where they bombed and opened fire with machine guns on a security post. Rana said 23 policemen were killed and roughly 50 Maoists.

The exact tolls in the remote areas were difficult to confirm independently because of poor communications.

The Maoists already hold at least six of Nepal's 75 districts and have launched attacks in nearly all of them.

More than 7,100 people have died since the rebels launched their "people's war" in 1996, according to army figures. The United States on Friday called on the Maoists to "lay down their arms immediately, stop their brutal and senseless attacks and engage in the peaceful pursuit of their aims within the democratic framework of Nepal's Constitution."

"We reiterate our support for the right of the government of Nepal to safeguard its citizens within the framework of the Constitution," said State Department spokeswoman Susan Pittman.

The Maoists are declared foes of India and the United States, which have both pledged help to Nepal to fight the rebels.

In a brief statement sent to Kathmandu newspapers overnight, the Maoists claimed responsibility for two killings in Kathmandu: A security supervisor at the U.S. Embassy on November 9, and a security guard at the mission of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) on December 15 last year. The rebels alleged that the two "were passing on information to U.S. Embassy authorities after extracting information from Maoist sources."