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Heavy casualties in Sri Lanka

COLOMBO: In a day of worst fighting since the end of the Cease Fire Agreement in January, at least 52 LTTE cadres and 38 soldiers were killed on the Muhamalai and Kilalay Forward Defence Lines (FDLs) in the Jaffna peninsula on Wednesday.

The Defence Ministry said at least 38 soldiers were killed and 84 injured in the “fresh offensive”. It termed the pro-LTTE news website TamilNet’s claim that 150 soldiers were killed as “ridiculous.”

It said the Army put up “stiff resistance to LTTE-embarked fresh offensives”. “According to [the] latest information, the LTTE suffered a severe beating and was pushed some 500 metres back from its initial positions. The Army broke the first line of defence on the Muhamalai front, and are now engaged in consolidating the defences.”

It said on the basis of “monitored radio communications and sources” 52 LTTE cadres were killed and many injured.

Defence observers are surprised at the Army casualties considering the peninsula had been under its control since December 1995. Military estimates said the Army and the LTTE had 40,000 troops and 1,500 Tigers stationed there respectively.

Warplanes carried out three strikes in Muhamalai and the Jaffna theatre of battle to support soldiers. An Air Force spokesperson said the raid targeted two heavy gun positions located south of the FDL and a “rendezvous point” behind the LTTE’s second line of defence. The last raid was conducted as a close ground air support move by MI-24 helicopter gunship targeting bunkers.

TamilNet claimed the Tigers had found more than 30 bodies of soldiers so far in the Northern Front and that 19 were brought to Kilinochchi.

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