34 LTTE men killed in Sri Lanka Army offensive attack

Stepping up the offensive against the LTTE sans the ceasefire, Sri Lankan army today killed at least 33 rebels, including two women, in the embattled north and lost one of its soldiers.
Troops launched an attack and killed four militants in Madhu and Periyathampane areas of North-western Mannar today, the army said.

The army found bodies of two women LTTE cadres after it attacked a line of LTTE bunkers 500 meters south of Adampan in Mannar.

In Jaffna, one soldier was killed in the Kilaly frontline that came under mortar fire last evening, the Defence Ministry said. "Troop retaliated and suppressed the militants' indirect fire," it said.

Despite the raging gunbattles and recent string of attacks by the LTTE after Colombo scrapped the 2002 ceasefire on Jan 16, the government said that it will continue with the Feb 4 Independence Day celebrations, though an additional 4,00 troops will be deployed in the capital to bolster security.

On the Nagarkovil front in Jaffna, troops attacked LTTE bunkers and killed two LTTE cadres yesterday, the Media Centre for National Security (MCNS) reported.

On the Vavuniya front, troops stationed in Vilattikulam confronted with a group of rebels on Saturday morning, the MCNS said. Ground troops confirmed that four militants were killed in the incident, it said.

At Mullikulam in North-western Mannar, troops attacked a group of militants and killed three rebels yesterday, the army said

Source: ptinews