& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

69 Tigers killed in two days of fighting

AFP, AP. Colombo
At least 69 Tiger rebels and two soldiers have been killed in heavy fighting in Sri Lanka's north where security forces wrested more territory from the guerrillas, the defence ministry said Thursday. Heavy fighting since TUesday left 69 Tiger guerrillas and two soldiers killed in separate clashes across the districts of Vavuniya. Mannar, Mullaitivu and Jaffna, the ministry
It said Mi-24 helicopter gunships were deployed Wednesday to pound suspected positions of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (UTE) in the Mannar district.
A new wave of fighting across Sri Lanka's embattled northern region killed at least 32 ethnic Tamil rebels and four government soldiers, the military said Wednesday
Fighting has escalated in recent months as government forces have tried to break into the Tamil Tigers' northern strongholds from four fronts. The government has pledged to capture rebel-held territory and crush the insurgents by the end of the year.
The latest battles took place Tuesday in the Mannar, Vavuniya, Welioya and Jaffna areas bordering the guerrillas' de facto state, military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara said.
Army troops advanced into rebel territory in Mannar district from three directions, capturing about a square mile in a battle that killed 10 rebels and wounded five soldiers, Nanayakkara said. Other fighting in Mannar killed three rebels and one soldier, he said.
Separate clashes in Vavuniya killed 13 rebels and one soldier,
while battles in Jaffna and Welioya killed six rebels and two soldiers, Nanayakkara said.
Also Tuesday, air force fighters bombed a training base in the rebel stronghold of Mullaitivu while helicopter gunships pounded rebel bunkers along the front lines in Mannar, a military statement said.
The military did not give any figures for casualties or damage from the air attacks.
Rebel spokesman Thaya Master confirmed that heavy fighting took place in Mannar on Tuesday, but did not give casualty figures. He declined to comment on other fighting, saying he needed to check the military's claims with his superiors.
It was not possible to independently verify the military reports because journalists are banned from the northern jungles where much of the fighting takes place.
Each side commonly exaggerates its enemy's casualties and downplays its own.
There was no immediate word from the Tigers on the latest fighting, but the guerrillas in a statement said a civilian was killed in a mine attack carried out by government commandos inside rebel held territory on Wednesday.
The defence ministry claims raise the number of rebels reported killed by government troops since the beginning of the year to 4,459, against the loss of 414 soldiers.
The Thmil Tiger rebels have fought since 1983 to create an independent state for ethnic minority Tamils, who have been marginalized by successive gov ernments controlled by ethnic Sinhalese. More than 70,000 people have been killed in the conflict.