Clashes in Lanka kill 46

Colombo, January 21
At least 44 Tamil Tigers and two soldiers were killed in fierce clashes between the rebels and security forces in northern Sri Lanka, where fighting has intensified since the government pulled out of a six-year-old ceasefire pact with the LTTE this month.

At Pallikulam, eight Tamil rebels were killed in an encounter with the government forces yesterday, the defence ministry said.

At Nagarkovil defence lines in Jaffna, 15 Tigers were killed and over 30 were wounded in a clash between government troops and the LTTE yesterday, the ministry said.

Two soldiers lost their lives while nine others were wounded during the hour-long confrontation, it said. — PTI