Sri Lankan gov't hands over bodies of rebels

At least 14 dead bodies of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) have been handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Sri Lanka's north central town of Anuradhapura, officials said Tuesday.

Sarath Weerabandara, the director of the General Hospital in Anuradhapura told the media that the bodies were handed over to the ICRC officials who called over at the hospital in the morning.

"We handed over the bodies after the post-mortems were conducted by Dr. Ajith Mendis the Judicial Medical Officer for Anuradhapura)," Weerabandara said.

The bodies were of the LTTE members killed in fierce battles in the north and east border of Welioya over the last weekend, according to military sources.

Some 47 rebels had been killed in confrontations with the troops during Saturday and Monday in the northern and northeastern regions, the military sources said.

Sri Lankan troops are currently engaged in limited military offensives to re-capture key areas from the rebels in the country's Northern Province.

The government claimed that rebels who controlled most parts of the Northern and Eastern provinces have now been restricted to just two districts in the north.

Source: Xinhua