'18 Tamil Tigers killed in fighting'

Sri Lanka's military beat back a Tamil Tiger counter-offensive in the island's north, killing at least 18 guerrillas, the defence ministry said today.

Sri Lanka's military beat back a Tamil Tiger counter-offensive in the island's north, killing at least 18 guerrillas, the defence ministry said on Thursday.

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The rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) mounted the offensive outside their besieged political capital of Kilinochchi on Wednesday, the ministry said.

"Well prepared troops engaged the advancing terrorists with armour, tanks, artillery and infantry causing heavy damage", the ministry said in a statement.

It said that 18 rebels were killed and another 34 wounded, but did not give details of casualties on the government side.

The pro-rebel Tamilnet.com website said there was heavy fighting in the area, but give no further details.

The Tigers on Monday said that they killed more than 100 soldiers and had taken back territory lost to advancing government forces.

Both sides are known to make exaggerated claims about casualties they have inflicted on each other, and independent verification is virtually impossible as journalists and aid workers are barred from the conflict area.

In January the Sri Lankan government pulled out of a 2002 Norwegian-brokered truce with the rebels, who have been fighting since 1972 for a state for ethnic minority Tamils separate from the majority Sinhalese community.< p >