Sri Lankan soldiers have shot and killed two suspected Tamil rebels during a cordon and search operation in the island's volatile east, where a pro-rebel parliamentarian was assassinated on Christmas Day. Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe, a military spokesman said: "When we were clearing an area ... two terrorists tried to attack our troops." Government troops fired at the alleged attackers, killing both of them during the incident in Batticaloa on Monday, he said. During a Christmas service on Sunday in the same city, unidentified armed men shot and killed Joseph Pararajasingham, 71, a pro-rebel parliamentarian. Batticaloa has been the site of frequent skirmishes between rebel factions since the separatist movement split in 2004.