By IANS,
Colombo : At least 29 Tamil Tigers were killed in fresh clashes with troops in Sri Lanka’s northeastern Mullaitivu district, the defence ministry said Friday.
It said the 58 Division confronted the Liberation Tigers of Tamil, now confined to an area of just 21.5 sq km, in and around Puthukkudiyiruppu as well as Iranapalai, “causing considerable damage to the enemy”.
“In subsequent search operation following the fighting, troops found 13 bodies of LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) terrorists,” it said.
The army gunned down 16 more LTTE cadres in Puthukkudiyiruppu, said the ministry.
Meanwhile, 2,108 Tamil civilians trapped in the war zone have reached government-held areas Thursday, officials said. These included 571 men and 597 women besides children.
The military said the number of civilians fleeing the rebel-held areas was on the rise. Over 55,000 people had entered the government-held areas since the start of 2009.