COLOMBO (AFP) — At least another 28 Tamil Tiger rebels have been killed by security forces in fresh fighting across Sri Lanka's embattled north, the defence ministry said Wednesday.
The overnight clashes were in the districts of Jaffna, Vavuniya and Mannar, the ministry said, adding that four soldiers were wounded in the fighting.
Elsewhere, air force fighter jets pounded three suspected rebel bases in Mannar on Wednesday, it said.
"The targeted LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) locations were identified as commanding bases," a ministry statement said.
So far this year, the defence ministry has reported security forces have killed at least 2,015 rebels while it has said 123 government soldiers have died.
The numbers cannot be independently verified as Colombo bars journalists and rights groups from frontline areas.
Colombo pulled out of a Norwegian-arranged truce with the Tigers in January and fighting has escalated since then.
More than 60,000 people have been killed in the separatist conflict which erupted in 1972.
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