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| Sri Lanka |
| 30 rebels, 4 soldiers killed in Lanka battle |
| 2008-07-19 |
| Thirty Tamil Tiger rebels and four soldiers were killed in two days of gunbattles in Sri Lanka, the defence ministry said yesterday. Ground battles took place on Wednesday and Thursday across the tropical island's war-torn northern region, the ministry said in a statement. Sri Lankan warplanes on Friday carried out air raids over the rebel-controlled northern region of Mullaittivu, targeting a Tiger logistics base, the airforce said, adding that the mission was successful. Troops have killed 5,017 rebels since January and 446 soldiers have died in combat over the same period, according to defence ministry figures. Meanwhile, air force jets bombed a rebel storage facility Friday morning and attacked and destroyed three rebel boats, the military said. The violence came amid a sharp increase in fighting in recent months, with the government vowing to crush the rebels and seize control of their de facto state in the north. In the worst fighting Thursday, troops attacked rebel bunkers along the front lines in the Vavuniya area, killing 10 Tamil Tiger fighters, said military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara. Fighting in the area also killed four soldiers, while a fifth soldier was missing in action, he said. Fighting in Welioya killed nine rebels and one soldier, while another rebel was killed in Jaffna, he said. Nanayakkara had earlier reported 11 rebels were killed in Welioya, but later said that was an error. Rebel spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan was not immediately available for comment. |
| Posted by:Fred |