(PTI) At least 73 people including 62 Tamil rebels and 11 Sri Lankan soldiers have been killed in fierce clashes in the northern front lines, the army said here today. The encounters, which started yesterday morning when LTTE cadres attacked military posts in the Muhamalai forward defence lines in Jaffna, came barely hours after Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wicremanayake warned of a reprisal attack by the rebels following the killing of the Tigers' political head S P Thamilselvan. "We should be more vigilant in the aftermath of this victory," Wicremanayake told Parliament, adding "the possibilities are very high of a counter strike to avenge the loss to Thamilselvan on Friday".The LTTE's death toll in the retaliation attack by troops in Muhamalai has gone up to 60, the defence ministry said in a statement today, adding 11 soldiers also lost their lives and another and 41 were injured in the fighting. However, a pro-LTTE website claimed 16 Sri Lankan soldiers were killed in the encounters with over 100 injured.
Meanwhile, in northern Vavuniya's Periyathampane area, troops killed two LTTE militants during a confrontation yesterday, the army said. During the gunbattle in Muhamalai, troops seized control of several LTTE bunkers to neutralise the continuous attacks on the FDL(Forward Defence Lines), the army said.