Sri Lankan troops backed by artillery fire killed 48 Tamil Tiger fighters in a series of battles in the north of the island, the military said on Tuesday, as it pressed on with attacks on rebel strongholds. Ten soldiers were killed and more than 30 wounded in the fighting that erupted on Monday in the northern Jaffna peninsula and the districts of Vavuniya, Polonnaruwa and Mannar, a military spokesman said The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) were not available for comment. “Forty-eight LTTE terrorists were killed and 28 wounded on Monday in day heavy confrontations,” the spokesman said. Fighting between the military and the LTTE rebels has intensified since the government scrapped a six-year ceasefire pact last month. The government says the rebels had used the truce to re-arm. The Tigers continue to mount deadly suicide attacks and roadside bombings, which are increasingly scattered with some in the capital Colombo.
Tiger rebels shelled a key base in northern Sri Lanka Tuesday. The rebels attacked the Thallady military camp in the district of Mannar early Tuesday, drawing retaliatory fire from security forces, a military official said. The defence ministry said that the Tigers had also hit a Catholic church while firing at the Thallady military camp on Tuesday morning.