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At least 71 killed in bloodiest battle in Sri Lanka's north
At least 71 people were killed in one of the bloodiest days of combat since Sri Lanka's armed forces intensified a thrust into rebel-held turf three months ago, the military said on Thursday.
- Agencies
- Published: 10:39 September 18, 2008
Colombo: At least 71 people were killed in one of the bloodiest days of combat since Sri Lanka's armed forces intensified a thrust into rebel-held turf three months ago, the military said on Thursday.
Most of the deaths came from a battle on Wednesday near the northwestern fishing port of Nachikkudah, about 300 km (185 miles) north of the capital Colombo, which killed 40 Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and 10 soldiers, the military said.
"Heavy fighting occurred throughout the day on Wednesday and the troops managed to successfully secure an area of 1.5 km of the LTTE's Nachikkudah forward defence line," said a spokesman at the state-run Media Centre for National Security, asking not to be named in line with the policy.
At least 27 soldiers and 30 rebels were wounded in the fighting.
Fighting elsewhere across the Indian Ocean island nation's north also killed 20 more insurgents and wounded 25. An additional soldier was killed and another six were wounded, the spokesman said.
There was no independent confirmation of the casualties and the rebels could not be reached for comment.
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