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| Tamil Tigers 'kill 53' soldiers | |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| Tamil Tiger rebels in Sri Lanka say they have killed 53 soldiers in the north of the island where the army is trying to capture rebel strongholds. | |
| A Tiger statement said the soldiers had been killed in fighting on the main road towards the town of Mullaitivu, believed still to be in rebel hands. | A Tiger statement said the soldiers had been killed in fighting on the main road towards the town of Mullaitivu, believed still to be in rebel hands. |
| Military officers denied that their troops had suffered heavy casualties. | Military officers denied that their troops had suffered heavy casualties. |
| The government announced two days ago that it had captured the de facto rebel capital, Kilinochchi. | The government announced two days ago that it had captured the de facto rebel capital, Kilinochchi. |
| The Tiger rebels are fighting for a separate homeland for the island's ethnic Tamil minority for the past 25 years. | |
| At least 70,000 people have been killed in the conflict. | |
| 'Shrinking' | |
| "At least 53 Sri Lanka Army soldiers were killed, more than 80 sustained injuries and the Tamil Tigers recovered two bodies of the soldiers in heavy fighting," the pro-Tamil website TamilNet reported. | |
| Meanwhile, Maj Gen Jagath Dias, who commanded the battle for the town of Kilinochchi, said he was confident of capturing the rebels' remaining strongholds in the north and east. | |
| "Day by day, the Tigers' territory is shrinking and their numbers are dwindling," he was quoted by the Associated Press as saying. | "Day by day, the Tigers' territory is shrinking and their numbers are dwindling," he was quoted by the Associated Press as saying. |
| "The objective of finishing this war won't be that long off." | "The objective of finishing this war won't be that long off." |
| There have been no independent reports from the front line and the claims by each side of inflicting casualties on each other are impossible to verify. | There have been no independent reports from the front line and the claims by each side of inflicting casualties on each other are impossible to verify. |
| Correspondents say that following its success at Kilinochchi the government has sent reinforcements to the region to try to capture not only Mullaitivu, but also the rebel-held Elephant Pass, further north. | Correspondents say that following its success at Kilinochchi the government has sent reinforcements to the region to try to capture not only Mullaitivu, but also the rebel-held Elephant Pass, further north. |