COLOMBO - The bloodiest offensive in 18 months in Sri Lanka on Wednesday left between 90 and 116 troops and rebels dead, and scores wounded, according to the warring sides.Tamil Tiger rebels claim they killed at least 100 government soldiers and lost 16 fighters themselves, while Colombo claims just 38 troops were killed compared with 52 guerrillas. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said they resisted a two-pronged military advance into territory held by them and pushed backed the soldiers in the latest battle in the northern peninsula of Jaffna. 'The Sri Lanka army suffered more than 100 killed in action and about 400 wounded in action,' an LTTE statement said. 'Sixteen valiant LTTE soldiers sacrificed their lives in this confrontation.'
Wednesday's battle inflicted the military's heaviest loss in a single offensive since October 2006.
'Monitored radio communications and ground sources have confirmed that 52 LTTE terrorists have been killed and many injured in the latest skirmishes in Jaffna,' the defence ministry said.
There was no independent verification of the conflicting tolls.
But a Sri Lankan military source confirmed that troops mounted a two-pronged assault on the forward fence lines of the LTTE under the cover of darkness and were forced to retreat after encountering stiff resistance. He said initially the resistance was limited and the LTTE's first line of defence was captured, but the guerrillas then brought down heavy artillery fire forcing a retreat.
Security forces have been trying to dismantle a de facto rebel mini-state in the north of the island after successfully driving the guerrillas out of the adjoining Eastern province in July last year. Defence sources said Wednesday's setback was a repeat of the October 2006 debacle when the security forces were pushed back by a major counter offensive of the Tigers, with 129 government soldiers killed and 515 wounded.