Colombo:
At least 143 Tamil Tigers and army personnel were killed and scores injured in Sri Lanka's embattled northern Jaffna peninsula in the fiercest clash between the two sides this year.
The Sri Lankan Defence Ministry said on Wednesday its troops killed more than 100 Tigers while it lost 43 soldiers, with another 33 missing in action.
The LTTE, however, claimed that at least 100 Sri Lankan troops were killed in the clashes and put their own losses at 16. They had also wounded about 500 troops, the rebels added.
",Forty-three soldiers made their supreme sacrifice while another 120 soldiers suffered injuries,", the Defence Ministry said, adding that, ",over 100 LTTE cadres have been killed and a large number had suffered injuries.",
The deadliest clash this year came a day after 25 rebels and soldiers lost their lives in confrontations in the restive north of the island nation.
The heavy fighting between the troops and rebels broke out on Wednesday as soldiers mounted retaliatory attacks at the offensive LTTE formations, according to the defence sources in Jaffna