At least 15 rebels killed in Sri Lanka

By Xinhua

Colombo : At least 15 Tamil Tigers rebels were killed Saturday in Sri Lanka's eastern Thoppigala region as the military continued its march to capture the area, defense officials said.


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Officials said the militants of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) were killed in two separate incidents Saturday morning.

There was no immediate reaction from the LTTE.

Thoppigala is the last bastion of the LTTE in the Eastern Province after they have lost key areas of Sampur and Vakarai to the Sri Lankan army during the last 12 months.

Located in the Batticaloa district, Thoppigala has for years served as a training camp for the rebels and the military said they have not stepped into the area for 14 years.

In an act of resistance Friday, the rebels killed some six soldiers including an officer in a mortar fire.

The LTTE maintains that they have tactically withdrawn from the province and the Army is walking into a trap by annexing Eastern Province.

Clashes that erupted in the province in late July 2006 caused the displacement of thousands of civilians.

LTTE rebels are fighting for a separate homeland for the minority Tamils in the Northern and Eastern provinces.

Nearly 70,000 people have been killed in the over three-decades-old separatist armed conflict.

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