Scattered gun battles and a roadside bomb blast in Sri Lanka's embattled north killed 17 Tamil separatists and three soldiers in two days of violence, the military said Saturday. Troops attacked Tamil Tiger rebels across the front lines in northern Mannar district Saturday morning, triggering a battle that killed six guerrillas, a defense ministry official said on condition of anonymity because of government regulations. The army suffered no casualties, he said. Sporadic fighting in the same district Friday left 10 rebels and two soldiers dead. Fifteen insurgents and four troops were also wounded, the official said. Tamil guerrillas later triggered a roadside bomb targeting an army truck in northeastern Welioya region Friday night, killing one soldier. Separately, a gun battle along the front lines in Welioya killed one Tamil rebel and wounded 13 others, four of them soldiers, he said. Rebel spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan was not immediately available for comment Saturday. It was not possible to independently verify the military's claims because the media are banned from the northern jungles where much of the fighting takes place. Both sides commonly exaggerate their enemy's casualties while underplaying their own. The Tamil Tigers have been fighting since 1983 for an independent homeland for minority ethnic Tamils.
