Clashes Kill 18 In Northern Sri Lanka

At least 16 Tamil Tiger rebels and two security personnel were killed in fresh clashes in Sri Lanka's restive northern region, the military said on Sunday.

Sri Lankan troops on Saturday had several confrontations in the Navatkulama, Chiraddikulama, Palamodai, Mundimurippu, Navvi and Kurukkolkulam areas on the Vavuniya front, the defense ministry said.

One security personnel lost his life in a The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) booby trap suspected to have been set up by the rebels in Jaffna's in Kilaly area on Sunday morning, the ministry reportedly confirmed.

It was not possible to independently verify the military's claims because media are banned from the northern jungles where much of the fighting takes place.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels have been battling for an independent homeland since 1972 in an ethnic conflict that has claimed tens of thousands of lives.

Source: AHN