Home International 32 killed in Sri Lanka clashes: military

32 killed in Sri Lanka clashes: military

By IANS,

Colombo : At least 30 Tamil Tiger guerrillas and two soldiers have been killed and 33 wounded on both sides during clashes in the northern theatre of battle in Sri Lanka, the military said here Sunday.

According to the military, fierce clashes erupted between the advancing government troops and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) cadres in the north-western Mannar district, leaving 18 rebels and a soldier dead Saturday.

At least 12 LTTE militants and a trooper were killed in sporadic clashes at Vavuniya and Welioya fronts in north Sri Lanka, said the military.

Supersonic fighter jets of the Sri Lankan Air Force continued to carry out air raids against suspected LTTE targets in the rebel-held Wanni region almost on a daily-basis.

The defence ministry said that a bulldozer was destroyed and few other heavy machinery were damaged when the air force jets carried out “precision air sorties on an identified LTTE bunker line, located 3.5 km of Thunukkai” in the rebel-held Mullaitivu district.

Meanwhile, LTTE peace secretariat in a statement e-mailed to the media Sunday claimed that “a 20-year-old female student, Murugesu Indravathana, was injured in the aerial attack carried out by the Sri Lanka Air Force yesterday (Saturday) over Mallavi and was admitted to the hospital. Livestock were killed in this aerial attack”.