Lanka: 1 soldier, 8 rebels killed in fresh clashes

Colombo, May 14: Eight Tamil Tiger rebels and a soldier were killed in fresh clashes between the two sides since yesterday evening, military sources today claimed.

The military on foot patrol at Sandilippai in the northern Jaffna peninsula shot dead a suspected LTTE cadre today morning.

They claimed that the suspected LTTE cadre was attempting to launch a grenade attack on the military foot patrol when the troops shot him dead on the spot.

''The hand grenade he had in his possession was defused by the Army,'' the military said.

''The Army killed seven LTTE cadres during a confrontation that erupted ahead of the Madhu Forward Defence Lines (FDL) towards west of Omanthai and east of Madhu yesterday,'' a Defence Ministry report said.

The report claimed that a soldier was also killed during this confrontation.

There was no reaction from the LTTE in this regard so far.

Fresh battles between the government troops and the LTTE have left over 4000 people being killed and thousands of people have been made refugees since December.

UNI