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| Sri Lanka |
| 98 Tamil Tigers killed in Jaffna battle |
| 2006-08-18 |
| Sri Lankan troops yesterday beat back a fresh attempt by Tamil Tigers to overrun the main defences of the northern peninsula of Jaffna and killed at least 98 guerrillas, media minister Anura Yapa said. More than 100 rebels were wounded in the close-quarter fighting in the early hours of the morning, the minister told reporters here. The attack on the northern peninsula, where hundreds have died in a week of fierce fighting, came a day after President Mahinda Rajapakse said the door was still open for peace talks with rebels fighting for autonomy for the nation's Tamil minority. Fighting also erupted in the eastern coastal town of Trincomalee, with foreign ceasefire monitors saying they were forced to retreat from heavy overnight shelling. In Jaffna, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) launched a seaborne attack on army bunkers at Kilali on the peninsula's southwestern edge but troops hit back with rockets and rocket-propelled grenades, officials said. "The fight lasted until morning and Sri Lankan forces have been able to inflict heavy causalities on the Tigers," said Yapa. "We have recovered 98 Tiger bodies and destroyed three LTTE boats." Yapa gave no soldier casualty figures. But military officials who wished to remain unnamed said at least six soldiers were killed and 60 wounded in the intense battle. |
| Posted by:Fred |