Xinhua
Colombo, July 31 (Xinhua) At least eight Tamil Tiger guerrillas have been killed and 19 injured in an offensive by government troops in northern Sri Lanka, the defence ministry said Thursday. The troops mounted heavy mortar and artillery attacks against the rebel-bunkers at Palamoddai in Wanni area controlled by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) at around 6 p.m. Wednesday.

At least seven rebels were killed in the attack, while the troops seized control over eight bunkers.

According to an LTTE transmission, another 15 guerrillas were also injured in the attack, the officials said, adding that four government soldiers were wounded in the skirmish.

Earlier, a rebel was killed and four others injured when the troops clashed with a group of rebels in the same area Wednesday morning.

Clashes between the troops and the LTTE continued in the north despite the ongoing 15th SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) summit in Colombo.

Sri Lanka’s government troops are currently battling the LTTE in the north with the aim of totally crushing the organization.

The LTTE has been fighting against the government since the mid-1980s to establish an independent homeland for the island’s minority Tamils, and that has led to the death of more than 70,000 people so far.
Xinhua