Rebels kill '90 Sri Lanka troops'

TamilNet says that the rebels captured abandoned weapons left by the army

About 90 Sri Lankan soldiers have been killed in the latest fighting in the north of the country, the pro-rebel TamilNet website says.

The army has denied the figures, but officials have conceded that they have met "stiff resistance" from the rebels.

Both sides are accused of routinely understating their own casualties while overstating those of the enemy.

Independent reporters are banned from going to the war zone, so confirmation of conflicting figures is impossible.

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TamilNet says that the troops were killed in two clashes to the west and south of the town of Kilinochchi - their administrative and political headquarters which in recent weeks has been under siege from the army.

The website has published several photographs of dead Sri Lankan troops and of jubilant rebels carrying weapons and other equipment which it says were abandoned before they fled.

TamilNet says that more than 180 soldiers were wounded in the clashes.

"Heavy shelling was reported in Kilinochchi town and its suburbs Wednesday. The Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) fighter bombers were also engaged in bombing forward defence localities of the Tigers," it said.

'Scores killed'

Military spokesman Brig Udaya Nanayakkara said the TamilNet pictures were "staged" and that it was impossible to say when they were taken. But he confirmed the clashes had occurred.

"Over 27 Tamil Tiger terrorists were killed during the battles and 20 army soldiers also died during the battles in last two days," he said.

The defence ministry, meanwhile, has said that the army is continuing its offensive against Kilinochchi. It says it took control of the "strategically vital" Terumurikandy junction on the outskirts of the town on Wednesday night.

"Security forces launched combined ground and air assaults targeting enemy defences. Scores of Tamil Tiger cadres were killed and many others reportedly sustained injuries during the intense fighting reported in the area for last two days," the ministry's website says.

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