Sri Lankan Government Troops Kill 17 Tamil RebelsSri Lankan government forces have killed 17 separatist Tamil Tiger rebels in separate clashes in the north of the country, a military statement said on Thursday.Six rebels of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) were killed in a confrontation in Welioya area while eight more were killed in the same area in an army ambush on Tuesday, the statement said. Interception of rebel radio transmissions said that the LTTE rebels acknowledged the loss of eight combatants, including two local leaders. Elsewhere in the area, three more LTTE rebels were killed in a confrontation with troops lying in ambush on Wednesday night, it said. The LTTE rebels have been fighting against government forces in the north and east of the country since 1983 for an independent Tamil homeland. The bloody war has killed some 64,000 people. |
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