Fighting in Sri Lanka kills 11 rebels, 4 soldiers

A wave of battles broke out between government forces and Tamil Tiger separatists in Sri Lanka's north and east, killing 11 rebels and four soldiers, the military said Friday.

Fighting erupted Friday in northern Vavuniya district when insurgents fired at a group of soldiers, killing two of them, the military said in a statement.

Several other clashes took place Thursday, with most centered along the front lines separating government troops from the rebels' de facto state in the north.

In Vavuniya, five rebels were killed in two battles, while in the Welioya area, five rebels and two soldiers were killed, the military said.

Meanwhile, police in Trincomalee killed a suspected rebel after he threw a grenade at them, the military said. Trincomalee is a town in eastern Sri Lanka, a region the government wrested from rebel control last year.

Rebel spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan could not immediately be reached for comment.

The two sides routinely exaggerate their enemy's casualties while underreporting their own.

It was not possible to independently verify the claims because journalists are banned from the jungles where much of the fighting takes place.

The Tamil Tigers have fought since 1983 to create an independent state for the island's ethnic minority Tamils, who have been marginalized by successive governments controlled by the Sinhalese majority. More than 70,000 people have been killed in the conflict.

Source: AP