KATHMANDU, Oct 15 (Reuters) - Nepali police detained 10 people on Wednesday in connection with a bomb blast in southeast Nepal, police said, as they continued their hunt for more suspects a day after a blast ripped through a small town.

At least three people, including two children, were killed and five others were wounded in the attack in Chandranigahapur in the country's southern plains, the Terai.

"We have detained 10 people for investigation and they are being held at a local police post," said Jai Bahadur Chand, a senior police officer from Gaur, 75 km (45 miles) southeast of Kathmandu.

Two rebel groups, "Terai Army" and "Terai National Liberation Army", phoned local media to claim responsibility for the blast, the latest in a string of explosions in recent months.

More than a dozen armed groups are fighting for autonomy in the region, which borders India and is considered impoverished Nepal's bread basket and business hub.

The government has called rebel groups in the south for peace talks but no date for the meeting has been fixed. (Reporting by Gopal Sharma; Editing by Bappa Majumdar) (For the latest Reuters news on Nepal see http://in.reuters.com, for blogs see http://blogs.reuters.com/in/)

AlertNet news is provided by