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Sri Lankan troops capture rebel bridge in north |
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08:29, May 07, 2008 |
The military in Sri Lanka said on Tuesday that its troops gained control over a Tamil Tiger rebels' bridge in the north.
Officials from the Ministry of Defence said the troops conducted an offensive operation against Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels and captured a bridge from the rebels following a fierce gun battle on Tuesday afternoon at Palampiddi in the Vavuniya district.
The military said the LTTE "suffered heavy casualties," but did not mention its own casualties.
Earlier on Tuesday the military said the Air Force fighter jets pounded the Palampiddi area.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayake said in parliament that some 120 military personnel were killed in clashes in April while 945 of them injured in the clashes.
The prime minister also said some 56 civilians were also killed while 145 others injured in April's clashes.
Since late last month the Army and the LTTE have been engaged in pitched battles from time to time especially in the northern Jaffna peninsula's Muhamalai area.
The government has denied media claims of high military losses and said that the overall military objective of crushing the rebels would not be hampered by temporary setbacks in the battle field.
The government's military thrust has succeeded in evicting the Tigers from the Eastern Province.
More than 70,000 have died in the island's armed conflict since the mid-1980s. The rebels seek political independence for the minority Tamil community in the Northern and Eastern provinces.
Source:Xinhua
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