COLOMBO - Fierce fighting between government troops and Tiger rebels in north and eastern Sri Lanka on Saturday left at least 127 people dead and another 280 wounded, the military said.Up to 500 rebels from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) attacked across a de facto front line in the northern Jaffna peninsula and a nearby islet, military spokesman Athula Jayawardena said. ‘We estimate at least 100 to 150 Tigers were killed and 200 to 250 were wounded,’ Jayawardena told reporters here. ‘We had our share of casualties too with three officers and 22 other rankers and two sailors killed. Eight officers and 72 other rankers were wounded. They have all been evacuated for treatment.’
The fighting lasted nearly 10 hours as the guerrillas fired heavy artillery towards military bunkers as well as the main airfield of Palaly on the northern edge of the peninsula, he said.