Troops captured a Tamil guerrilla camp in embattled northern Sri Lanka as two days of heavy fighting along the northern front line left 22 rebels and one soldier dead, the military said Sunday, according to AP. The Tamil Tigers, meanwhile, said they killed 17 soldiers in a fierce clash. Military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara said guerrillas hastily abandoned the camp in Periyapunchankulam village, Vavuniya district, as the soldiers advanced Saturday. Nanayakkara said there were no casualties and troops had only progressed about 400 meters (1,300 feet) into rebel-held territory. In a pre-dawn attack on Sunday, soldiers destroyed four rebel bunkers in Nagarkovil village on the northern Jaffna peninsula, killing eight insurgents, said Nanayakkara. The government forces suffered no casualties. Separately, troops attacked rebel positions in Vavuniya and killed three guerrillas, he said. Three soldiers were wounded in the battle.
