Colombo:
At least 35 Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels and eight soldiers were killed in fierce ground clashes and powerful explosions in Sri Lanka's embattled northern region, officials said here on Wednesday.
Seventeen LTTE cadres were killed on Tuesday in separate confrontations with security forces in Koilmoddai, Umavarthuvarankulam, Alakallapottakulam, Mullikulam and Periyapantrichchhan areas of Vavuniya, the army said.
One more Tiger rebel was shot dead at Muhamalai in Jaffna peninsula on Tuesday, the Media Centre for National Security (MCNS) said.
In Mannar, troops attacked a group of Tamil Tigers at Sirukulama on Tuesday, killing or wounding five LTTE cadres, the army said.
In another confrontation at Thalladi in Mannar, as many as six soldiers were killed and 10 injured in various clashes, the Defence Ministry said.
Troops killed seven guerrillas and injured six in clashes in Kokkuthuduvai and Andankulam areas of Welioya on Tuesday.
At Vilattakulam in Vavuniya, troops gunned down another seven rebels in a clash on Tuesday, the MCNS said, adding one more guerrilla died in a separate confrontation at Nagarkovil in Jaffna.
In northern Wanni's Navathakulam area, troops shot dead two rebels in a clash the same day, the army said.
Meanwhile, two soldiers were killed in explosions triggered by suspected LTTE rebels at Thaddankulam in Vavuniya, the Defence Ministry said.