Bloody weekend in Sri Lanka fighting

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, July 13 (UPI) -- The Sri Lankan military claimed Sunday its troops had killed 36 Tamil Tiger rebels and wounded 16 others in intense weekend fighting.

The government said two government soldiers died in the battles, Lanka Pages reported Sunday.

Twenty-two of the rebels and one government soldier died when army commandos struck Sunday, capturing two bunkers in Wanni.

Fighting in the Welioya area Saturday left five Tigers dead and 16 injured, and confrontations in Vavuniya resulted in seven Tigers killed and the destruction of a rebel bunker, the military said. One government soldier reportedly died in that fighting.

In Mannar, troops killed two Tigers and seized a motorized boat and fuel, the military said.

The Sri Lankan newspaper notes independent verification of casualty figures is not possible because the media is restricted in the battle zones in the northern regions of the Asian country.