| |
| |
 |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
COLOMBO: A roadside blast in Sri Lanka's restive eastern region on Wednesday killed two policemen while fighting in the north left at least 19 rebels and one soldier dead, the government said.
The mine attack that killed the two policemen also injured five people, including a civilian and two elite police commandos, the defence ministry said, blaming the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
The attack occurred in Batticaloa, where the government earlier this month held elections after ejecting the rebels.
The Tamil Tiger rebels, who have been fighting for a separate homeland since 1972, are now largely confined to the island's north.
Meanwhile fighting across the war-ravaged northern district killed at least one soldier and 19 rebels on Tuesday, the defence ministry said.
There was no immediate comment from the LTTE, who are fighting to carve out an independent state for minority Tamils in the north and east of the majority Sinhalese island.
Security forces have killed at least 2,375 rebels since January while some 137 soldiers have died, according to the ministry.
Casualty figures cannot be independently verified because journalists and rights groups are not allowed access to the embattled areas.
Fighting has escalated since January, when Sri Lanka formally pulled out of a six-year Norwegian-arranged truce with the Tigers.
- AFP/so
|
