Sri Lankan Forces Confirm Death of 12 Tamil Tiger RebelsSri Lankan government forces confirmed that 12 Tamil Tiger rebels including five officers and two teenage women combatants were killed in an air raid in the north of the country on Wednesday.Military spokesman Brigadier Sanath Karunaratne said Friday night that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) radio messages intercepted by government forces revealed that all the terrorists killed in the air force attack on their hideout at Alampil were moved to Welioya from the Batticaloa district in the east of the country. Besides those killed another 17 Tiger rebels were wounded in the air raid, he said. The spokesman said that the on-spot cremation without funeral rites held for the dead Tiger rebels is a clear indication that the LTTE's morale is low due to serious setbacks they faced during the last few weeks. The LTTE rebels have been fighting against government forces for a separate Tamil homeland in the north and east of the island country since 1983. Over 60,000 people have been killed in the long-running ethnic war. |
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