Sri Lankan security forces shot dead at least another 32 Tamil Tiger rebels and lost two of their own soldiers in fresh fighting in the island’s north, the Defence Ministry said Friday.
Troops killed the 32 members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and wounded another 37 in the districts of Vavuniya, Mannar, Mullaitivu and Jaffna on Thursday, the ministry said.
It said two government soldiers were killed and 15 wounded.
There was no immediate word from the LTTE on the latest violence.
The Defence Ministry’s claim takes the number of rebels reported killed by government troops since the beginning of the year to 4 701 against the loss of 424 soldiers.
Government figures cannot be independently verified as journalists are barred from visiting frontline areas.
Sri Lanka has been wracked by civil war for more than three decades. The rebels are fighting for an independent homeland for minority Tamils on the Sinhalese-majority island. — AFP
