Sri Lanka claims 85 killed in fresh fighting

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COLOMBO, Mar 23 (AFP): At least 80 Tamil rebels and five government soldiers were killed in fresh fighting as Sri Lankan security forces tried to break into rebel-held territory, the defence ministry said Sunday.
Fierce battles raged in the north of the island as the military smashed through a bunker line of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) inflicting heavy casualties on the rebels, the ministry said.
It raised the number of guerrillas killed in fighting since Saturday morning to 80 from the earlier figure of 22. The ministry added that the number of its troops killed had also risen to five.
But the guerrillas said they resisted the military push and inflicted heavy losses on government forces.