COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - A series of battles between soldiers and Tamil rebels in northern Sri Lanka left eight guerrillas dead, the military said Wednesday as troops uncovered a massive weapons cache hidden in a house in the region.Acting on a tip, Sri Lankan forces searched a house in the volatile northern Jaffna Peninsula on Wednesday, discovering eight suicide bomb vests, 26 boxes of C-4 explosives totaling nearly 600 kilograms (1,320 pounds), rifles and other bombs, the military said in a statement. The military said the weapons were hidden by the Tamil Tiger rebels to be used in their ongoing separatist war against government forces.
Fighting has flared in recent weeks between the government and the rebels along the front lines surrounding the TigersÂ’ mini-state in part of northern Sri Lanka. The latest wave of battles began about 10:20 a.m. Tuesday when rebels tried to cross into the government-controlled Jaffna peninsula at the village of Nagarkovil, the military said in a statement. Troops killed one rebel in the fighting, the military said. Later in the day, rebels attacked soldiers in the village of Muhamalai in two separate incidents that left six rebels dead, the military reported.
Early Wednesday, 10 rebels believed to be fleeing from the northeastern wilderness of Thoppigala were attacked by security forces who killed one fighter outside the city of Trincomalee, the military said.