| Sri Lankan security forces shot dead at least 10 Tamil Tiger rebels amid artillery duels in the north, the defence ministry said Wednesday. Three soldiers were hurt in the fighting in the Mannar and Vavuniya regions, the ministry said. There was no immediate comment on the report from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), who have been fighting govearnment troops since 1972 for a separate state for minority Tamils. However, the LTTE said unidentified gunmen shot dead a Tamil medical student in Jaffna on Tuesday night. The latest figures raised the number of rebels killed since January to 3,204, according to the defence ministry, which says 233 soldiers have died in the same period. Casualty figures from both sides vary widely and cannot be independently verified as Colombo bars reporters and rights groups from travelling to the embattled areas. Tens of thousands have died in the conflict, one of AsiaÂ’s longest running wars. |