A series of gunbattles between government forces and the Tamil Tigers killed 15 rebels and seven soldiers in war-torn northern Sri Lanka, the military said Tuesday. Fighting broke out Monday along the front lines separating government-controlled territory and the rebels' de facto state in the north, a military statement was quoted as saying by the Associated Press. The heaviest fighting was reported in Kilinochchi district, where two separate clashes killed six rebels and one soldier, it said. Eleven fighters were wounded. Other battles in Mullaitivu and Welioya regions killed four soldiers and one rebel, the statement said. Army troops captured a part of a reservoir in Welioya on Monday after a clash that killed eight rebels and two soldiers, it said.
