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Colombo: Fierce fighting between government troops and separatist Tamil Tigers across Sri Lanka's embattled north killed 36 rebels and five soldiers, the military said on Thursday.
The latest violence occurred on Wednesday along the front lines separating government-controlled territory and the rebels' de facto state in the north, said military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara.
Army troops and the air force launched a joint offensive on rebel bunkers in Kilinochchi district, triggering a furious battle that killed 18 rebels and four soldiers, he said. The same fighting wounded 31 soldiers.
Scattered battles in Vavuniya killed 12 rebels and one soldier, while in Welioya region six rebels died, Nanayakkara said.
Separately, 122 trainee soldiers were hospitalised due to food poisoning in the eastern Ampara district, Nanayakkara said.
Rebel spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan could not be reached for comment.
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