Sri Lanka fighting kills 24 rebels, 4 soldiers

Colombo, Aug 22: Sri Lankan war planes pounded a

Tamil Tiger supply facility in the embattled northern region

on Friday, while renewed infantry clashes killed 24 rebels and

four soldiers, the military said.

Fighting has escalated in recent weeks in the Indian

Ocean Island, with the military capturing a series of rebel

bases and ...

reiterating their pledge to crush the rebel group by the end

of the year.

In the latest assault, fighter jets bombed a Tamil Tiger

supply facility deep in the jungle in the rebel-held

Mullaitivu district early today, said air force spokesman Wing

Commander Janaka Nanayakkara.

He said details of the bombing raid's casualties and

damage were not immediately available but that the pilots had

confirmed they "hit the target accurately".

Hours later, in the nearby Kilinochchi district,

helicopter gunships attacked a rebel bunker line in support of

troops fighting on the ground, Nanayakkara said.

Yesterday, a series of ground battles took place in

Mullaitivu, Kilinochchi, Welioya, Jaffna and Vavuniya regions,

military spokesman Brig Udaya Nanayakkara said.

Army troops killed six guerrillas in separate clashes in

Kilinochchi and lost two soldiers, he said.

Seven insurgents and a soldier died in several

confrontations in Mullaitivu, he said.

Scattered battles in other parts killed 11 rebels and a

soldier, the military spokesman said.

Bureau Report