Sri Lankan violence kills 14

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, Oct. 10 (UPI) -- Sri Lankan military officials said Wednesday its troops killed 13 Tamil Tiger separatists in separate clashes while it lost one soldier, Xinhua reported.

In one clash, the report quoted the military as saying 10 members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam were killed Tuesday as they tried to break through military defense lines at Eluthumattuval in the northern Jaffna peninsula.

In another clash in Mannar, also in the north, two rebels died and three Sri Lankan soldiers were injured, the military said.

Separately, a Sri Lankan special task force soldier was killed by LTTE rebels when the force was conducting a search in the eastern Ampara district, the report said. The military said it also found the body of a rebel in the area.

The LTTE has been waging a campaign for years for a separate homeland for the Tamil speaking minority in the predominantly Buddhist majority island nation in the Indian Ocean. Thousands have died in the campaign.

The Sri Lankan military reportedly is concentrating its efforts in the north after claiming it has cleared the eastern province of the rebels.