65 killed in Sri Lanka fighting: Military
September 22nd, 2008 - 10:09 pm ICT by IANSColombo, Sep 22 (IANS) At least 58 Tamil Tiger guerrillas and seven soldiers were killed and some 40 wounded in heavy fighting in the island’s north, military officials said Monday.The Media Centre for National Security (MCNS) said that fighting broke out Sunday between government troops and the rebels in the western flank of the rebels’ political hub Kilinochchi.
A “total of 38 terrorists were killed in (the) clashes”, the MCNS said in a statement, referring to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
It said seven soldiers were also killed and over 20 wounded in these close-quarter battles. The bodies of seven of the guerrillas were recovered along with heavy machine guns and assault riffles.
It said 15 more rebels, including its group leader Muttu, were killed separately when a group of LTTE fighters confronted troops in the northern district of Vavuniya.
The rebel-held Kilinochchi town is located 320 km north of here and the military has claimed that the troops, inching forward to seize the region from the LTTE, were just 12 km away.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who is in New York to attend the UN General Assembly, has declared that troops would march into Kilinochchi soon.
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Tags: assault riffles, liberation tigers of tamil eelam, liberation tigers of tamil eelam ltte, ltte fighters, mahinda rajapaksa, mcns, political hub, president mahinda rajapaksa, tamil tiger guerrillas, western flank
