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10 killed in Sri Lanka fighting
At least 10 people died in separate attacks across Sri Lankas north Saturday, the government said, marking the latest violence in the islands bloody ethnic conflict.Seven Tamil Tiger rebels were killed in various clashes in the northern region, the defence ministry said. An army officer was killed while two others were seriously injured when they stepped on an anti-personal mine, the ministry said in a statement. Elsewhere, two policemen were killed when their motorbike hit a Claymore mine in the northern town of Kalawanchikudi, the military said. The military blamed the killings of the security forces on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). There was no immediate comment from the rebels. Independent verification is not possible and journalists are not allowed to travel to rebel-held areas in the north. The clashes came as the LTTE prepared to commemorate nearly 20,000 of their men and women killed fighting for an independent homeland, the rebels said. Documents released by the rebels showed that 19,887 of their members have been killed since November 1982 when the first Tiger loss was recorded, though the organisation was formed 10 years earlier. Among the dead were 343 suicide bombers, including 93 women, who staged devastating attacks, mainly against security forces, it said. Posted by: Fred 2007-11-25 |
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