By DPA
Colombo : Government troops repulsed a Tamil rebel attack on a military detachment in north-western Sri Lanka early Friday, killing nine rebels and losing three of their soldiers, a military official said.
Rebels initially launched a mortar and small arms fire attack on the detachment at Niatchchenai in Mannar, 320 km north of the capital, in the early hours of Friday.
Three soldiers were killed and four injured in the initial attack and troops retaliated, inflicting casualties on the rebels, the official said.
Intercepted rebel communications revealed that nine rebels were killed and 24 others were injured, the official claimed.
Government troops last week declared that the military now fully controls the eastern part of the country and the fighting has shifted to parts of the northern province.