Fresh fighting across the front lines of the civil war in northern Sri Lanka killed nine Tamil Tiger rebels, the military said Tuesday. The scattered battles Monday took place across the Jaffna, Vavuniya and the Welioya fronts bordering the Tamil separatists de facto state in the north, the military said. Rebel spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan could not be reached for comment. Both sides routinely exaggerate enemy casualties while underreporting their own. The rebels have fought since 1983 to create an independent homeland for minority ethnic Tamils.
