| Submit your comments on this article |
| Sri Lanka |
| 35 Tamil Tigers killed, claims Sri Lanka |
| 2007-12-29 |
| Sri Lanka’s military said on Friday troops had killed 35 Tamil Tigers in a series of land clashes in the island’s north in 24 hours as the death toll from renewed civil war climbs inexorably higher. The army said troops battled the rebels in the northern district of Vavuniya on Thursday killing 25 rebels. The military said it had also killed 10 rebels on the Jaffna peninsula, in Vavuniya and in Welioya town on Friday. It said one soldier was wounded in a mine blast in Jaffna. The rebels denied any of their fighters were killed in Jaffna. There were no independent accounts of what had happened, and analysts say both sides tend to overstate enemy losses and play down their own amid a parallel propaganda war. Later on Friday, the air force said it bombed a rebel position in the north but gave no details of casualties or damage. “Air Force jets pounded a meeting place of LTTE terrorists in Puthukudiyirippu in Mullativu”, said Air Force spokesman Wing Commander Priyantha Weerasinghe. Tigers sing another tune: The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), who are seeking to carve out an independent state in north and east Sri Lanka, said in an email statement they had prevented military infiltration attempts in the Jaffna peninsula on both Thursday and Friday. “One SLAF (Sri Lanka Armed Forces) personnel was killed and at least five others sustained injuries... The LTTE front liners suffered no casualties”, said Tiger military spokesman Rasiah Ilanthiraiyan. However the rebel statement made no reference to fighting in Vavuniya and were not immediately available for comment on the air raids. |
| Posted by:Fred |