The Sri Lankan military said that 12 Tamil Tiger rebels were killed by government troops on Tuesday as clashes between the two sides continued in the north.

Officials from the Media Center for National Security said eight cadres of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) were killed and nine were injured when Army troops captured the Pikculam area and destroyed 12 LTTE bunkers in the Mannar district early morning.

Eight soldiers were injured in the encounter, said the officials.

They also said four LTTE cadres were killed when Army troops attacked LTTE positions at Manthai North in Mannar, also in the morning.

On the other hand, the LTTE launched mortar attacks on the Madu Church and the Murunkan Government Hospital in the Mannar district, forcing the temporary closure of the hospital.

Meanwhile, Air Force fighter jets pounded a LTTE base in the northeastern Mullaitivu district at 4.30 P.M. (1100 GMT). The Air Force said the air strike was a total success.

Having taken over control of the Eastern Province last July, Sri Lanka's security forces are currently engaging LTTE rebels in the north.

The LTTE has been fighting against government troops since the mid-1980s to carve out a separate homeland for the Tamil minority in the north and east, resulting in the death of more than 70,000 people.

(Xinhua News Agency April 2, 2008)