Sri Lankan soldiers launched a pre-dawn attack on Tamil separatists in the embattled north Sunday, killing 15 rebels, while other battles in the region left 24 rebels and one soldier dead, said the military. In the latest offensive, army troops pushed into the rebel territory across a defense line in the village of Kilali on the Jaffna peninsula early Sunday and attacked rebel bunkers, said military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara. He said soldiers killed 15 guerrillas before retreating to their bunkers, without suffering casualties. Fighting, meanwhile, continued throughout Saturday along the front lines in Vavuniya, Mullaitivu, Jaffna and Welioya regions bordering the rebels' de fact state, Nanayakkara was quoted as saying by the Associated Press. Scattered battles in Vavuniya killed 16 rebels and one soldier while three rebels died in Mullaitivu. Separate clashes killed five insurgents in Welioya and Jaffna. Rebel spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan was not available for comment. More than 70,000 people have been killed in the conflict.
