Seventeen terrorists, one solider dead

A series of battles between soldiers and LTTE in the North left 17 terrorists and one soldier dead, the military said yesterday.

Army troops attacked two LTTE bunkers along the front line and the Tiger-held area in northern Vavuniya district Friday morning, killing six guerrillas, said military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara.

Nanayakkara said military operations were launched because Tamil Tigers "were directing fire toward soldiers in the area."

Later in the day, in the neighbouring Mannar district, five LTTE terrorists died in artillery strikes, he said.

Also Friday, three female Tigers were killed in a clash with soldiers in a village in Vavuniya, and one soldier also died. Two other separate gun battles left three terrorists dead in the district.

India has assured Sri Lanka that it will look into recent reports of increased LTTE activities along the Tamil Nadu coast, the Hindustan Times reported.

"We do not have any such information. We will however discuss the matter with the Government of Sri Lanka and take appropriate action based on the information provided by the government," an Indian High Commission Spokesman, Dinkar Asthana was quoted as saying to PTI. The spokesman was reacting to a statement in Parliament earlier this week that the activities of the Tamil Tigers had risen along the coast of the southern Indian state.

The Sri Lankan Prime Minister made a mention of this while initiating the debate on extension of the emergency in the country for another month.

He said the Navy was able to intercept an LTTE boat carrying accessories for helicopters and remote controlled aircraft recently.

(AP)