By DPA
Colombo : More than 30 Tamil rebels were killed in three separate confrontations in northern Sri Lanka, where fighting has escalated over the past two months, a military spokesman in Colombo said Thursday.
Fighting broke out between troops and rebels close to a major irrigation project in Mannar, 290 km north of the capital, Thursday after rebels made an attempt to infiltrate into an area controlled by the security forces, the spokesman said.
Troops launched a counter-attack on the rebels, destroying their bunkers, and fighting continued for more than seven hours, the spokesman said.
Bodies of eight rebels were recovered by the military while 14 more of the rebels’ cadres were killed, according to transmissions intercepted by the military, the spokesman said.
At least 10 more rebels were reported killed Wednesday in fighting in Vavuniya, 240 km north of the capital.