Two policemen among latest Lanka casualties

Colombo: Suspected Tamil rebels detonated a roadside bomb in government-controlled territory in northern Sri Lanka on Thursday, killing two police officers and sparking a clash that left two rebels dead, the military said.

Other battles in the north killed 13 rebels and four soldiers, the military said in a statement.

Two officers from the elite police Special Task Force unit were inspecting an area in the northern Anuradhapura district just south of the conflict zone when Tamil Tiger rebels detonated a buried mine, the military said.

Retaliatory action

The two officers died and two of the rebels were killed in retaliatory action.

In other violence, 10 rebels were killed on Wednesday in fighting in the Mannar area, while three guerrillas and four soldiers were killed in the Vavuniya and Welioya districts, the military said.

Rebel spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan was not immediately available for comment.

The latest violence came after a sprawling battle with insurgents in Mannar on Wednesday that the military said accounted for 51 rebels but no casualties on their side.

The military said its forces seized a key Tamil Tiger base in the battle, which lasted much of the day and spread to adjoining villages. The troops were backed by fighter jets and artillery and mortar fire, the military said.

A pro-rebel website reported seven soldiers were killed in that fighting. It did not mention the base that the military claimed to have seized or any rebel casualties.

Fighting has escalated along the northern front lines since the government withdrew from a long-ignored cease-fire in January.

The rebels have fought since 1983 to create an independent homeland for minority ethnic Tamils, who have been marginalised by successive governments.