Sri Lanka army claims death of 35 rebels
The Sri Lankan military said soldiers have killed 35 Tamil rebels in the latest fighting inside the ever-shrinking sliver of rebel territory in the war-torn north.
Military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said troops found 35 bodies of rebels killed in two days of fighting after army troops advanced into the remaining rebel territory in the north.
Government forces say they rescued thousands of civilians on Monday after they broke through a barrier built by the rebels to protect their territory.
By yesterday evening, the military said 77,793 had escaped.
It is not possible to get independent accounts of the clashes because the war zone is off limits to journalists.
