COLOMBO, OCT 1 (AP): Clashes between army troops and Tamil Tiger rebels across Sri Lanka's restive north killed 17 of the guerrillas and two soldiers, capping a week of escalating violence between the warring sides, the military said Monday. In the deadliest violence, rebel troops attacked military positions about 9:45 p.m. Sunday in the village of Nagarkovil along the front lines separating the government-controlled Jaffna Peninsula with the rebels' mini-state in northern Sri Lanka, said Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara, a military spokesman.
The ensuing battle left 10 rebels and one soldier dead, he said. Earlier, soldiers confronted another group of rebels in the village of Kallikulam in the northern Vavuniya district, killing five of them in a gunbattle, he said.
In the neighbouring Mannar district, soldiers killed two rebel fighters in fighting Sunday afternoon, Nanayakkara said. Rebel fighters also killed one soldier when they fired on troops stationed along the front lines, he said.
Suspected rebels also exploded a roadside bomb about 10:30 Monday near an armored vehicle carrying air force personnel near Vavuniya, wounding three airmen and a civilian, he said.
The violence came after a week of heavy fighting between government and rebel troops along the front lines.
17 rebels, two soldiers die in Lankan fighting
FE Team | Published: October 02, 2007 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00
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