Sri Lanka Military: Fighting Kills 30

Suspected separatist Tamil rebels killed a police officer and a soldier in separate attacks in northern Sri Lanka on Sunday, the military said, taking the death toll from two days of violence to 30.

Tamil Tiger rebels ambushed a motorized rickshaw with a roadside bomb in Vavuniya district, killing one soldier and wounding four others, the military said in a statement.

Also Sunday, guerrillas shot dead a police officer in northern Mannar district, the statement said.

Seven other soldiers and 21 Tamil rebels have been killed in clashes across Jaffna, Vavuniya, Mannar and Welioya regions since late Friday, the military said.

Rebel spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan could not be reached for comment.

However, the pro-rebel TamilNet Web site said the rebels beat back advancing troops Friday on three fronts in Mannar and Welioya regions, killing 22 soldiers.

It was not possible to obtain independent accounts of the battles because reporters have been barred from the war zone. Each side routinely exaggerates the other's casualty figures while underreporting its own.

The rebels have fought since 1983 to create an independent state for ethnic minority Tamils after decades of marginalization by governments controlled by majority Sinhalese.

More than 70,000 people have been killed in the violence.

Source: AP via GOOGLE