NEW DELHI, March 6 -- Sri Lankan army officials claim they have killed 160 Tamil ('TAA-MILL') separatist rebels who overran a major army camp in Sri Lanka. The Press Trust of India, quoting defense officials, says the rebels launched an early morning raid killing at least 75 soldiers and wounding 150 others in eastern Batticaloa district.
The report says the troops of the feared Gajaba Regiment repulsed the rebel attack killing 160 guerrillas. Many of the killed rebels were part of a suicide squad that led the raid by 500 guerrillas. To stop troops reinforcement into the area, suicide bombers blew up a bridge linking the camp and the army brigade headquarters. The army camp base at Vavunathivu is the last post under the army's control in north eastern part of the island. Beyond this point the area is controlled by separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. A suicide squad of 10 rebels sneaked into the Sri Lankan air force base and damaged a Y-12 transport aircraft Wednesday night. For the past 13 years, the rebels have been battling Sri Lankan security forces to establish an independent nation in the island's north and east for the 17 percent ethnic minority Tamils. More than 55,000 people have died in the fighting and hundreds of thousands left homeless. ---
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