Sri Lankan Forces Launch Attack Against Tamil Rebels

Sri Lankan government forces attacked separatist Tamil Tiger rebels in the north of the country on Sunday, killing at least six rebels, the Defense Ministry said.

The ministry said that government troops conducted a limited clearing operation against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels in northern Jaffna peninsula.

At least six rebels were killed and nine others injured while 12 soldiers were also wounded in the pre-dawn attack, the ministry said.

Meanwhile, the ministry confirmed that 17 LTTE rebels were killed when they attempted to overrun two army camps in the eastern Welioya region on Thursday. The bodies of seven soldiers among nine listed as missing during the rebel attack were handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross, it said.

The LTTE rebels have been fighting against government forces since 1983 in the north and east of the country attempting to set up an independent Tamil homeland there. More than 64,000 people have died in the brutal ethnic war.






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