(KUNA) -- Sri Lankan security forces Saturday claimed to have killed over 50 Tamil rebels as fighting in the island nation's eastern areas continued for the second day today. "Bodies of 12 Tamil rebels, shot down when they attempted to infiltrate the forward defence lines in Eastern Sri Lanka, were handed over to the local hospital for onward transfer to the Red Cross," Sri Lankan defence ministry said in a statement Saturday at capital Colombo, news agency Press Trust of India reported. "However, troops have observed 40 to 45 bodies of Tamil rebels lying ahead of the forward defence lines," the statement added.The Tamil rebels Saturday claimed that they recovered 13 dead bodies of government troops and captured a soldier alive, but the military said only two soldiers were killed and eight wounded, according to the news agency. There was no independent verification of the claims made by both sides. Both sides have also blamed each other for starting the latest fighting.