By IANS,
Colombo : At least 49 Tamil Tiger rebels were killed when confronted by advancing government troops in Sri Lanka’s Wanni battlefront, the military claimed Monday.
A soldier was also killed in the fighting Sunday.
According to the Media Centre for National Security (MCNS), 19 Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels and a government soldier were killed when troops mounted a major assault on LTTE targets in Vavuniya district.
Another 15 LTTE cadres were killed “when the army made a daring advance ahead of the Kilali, Jaffna Forward Defence Lines Sunday morning”, the MCNS said.
In the third clash in the northeastern Weli-Oya district, the military claimed to have killed another group of 15 Tamil Tiger guerrillas and recovered seven dead bodies of the rebels.
The reports said 10 soldiers were also wounded in Sunday’s fighting. There was no immediate word from the Tigers about the military’s latest claims.
Over 5,000 people have been killed since December 2006 due to fresh violence between the rebels and the Sri Lankan military.