At least 26 Tamil Tiger fighters and three government soldiers are reported to have been killed in clashes across Sri Lanka's northern regions.The Sri Lankan defence ministry said on Friday that the clashes took place on Thursday in the Vavuniya, Mannar and Jaffna regions bordering the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam (LTTE) de facto state in the north. Three Sri Lankan army soldiers were killed and 17 others wounded, the ministry said.
The latest clashes bring to 4,335 the number of LTTE fighters reported to have been killed by security forces since January. In the same period 399 security personnel have died in combat, according to the defence ministry.
The Sri Lankan army has been fighting for months over territory around the Tigers' stronghold in the north. In the latest infantry clashes, army troops killed 11 fighters in Vavuniya while separate fighting in the nearby Mannar district left six fighters and three soldiers dead, an official said speaking on condition of anonyymity. Nine fighters were killed and 33 wounded after clashes in Jaffna and Welioya, he said.
Rasiah Ilanthirayan, a rebel spokesman, could not immediately be reached for comment.
| Maybe he's one of the deaders? |