By DPA
Colombo : At least 24 Tamil rebels and one soldier were killed in fighting in northern Sri Lanka over the weekend, military officials said Sunday.
A military spokesman in Colombo said that the rebels were killed Saturday in four separate incidents in the Mannar and Vavuniya districts, over 320 km and 240 km north of the capital respectively.
Nine of the rebels were killed in a clash in Cheddikulam when troops spotted a group of rebels moving into a military-controlled area, while others were killed in similar incidents in the two districts.
One soldier was killed in combat with rebels in Thampanai.
The military mounted a search operation in a wildlife park in southeastern Sri Lanka after rebels set off a claymore mine that killed a civilian worker and injured another Saturday evening.
A military spokesman confirmed that a vehicle carrying the civilian workers was caught in the blast at Katagamuwa, 380 km southeast of the capital.
At least five civilians and seven soldiers have been killed during the past month in suspected rebel attacks around the wildlife park area, raising fresh security concerns.