36 rebels, 5 soldiers killed in Sri Lanka

Fierce fighting between government troops and separatist Tamil Tigers across Sri Lanka's embattled north killed 36 rebels and five soldiers, the military said Thursday. The latest violence occurred Wednesday along the front lines separating government-controlled territory and the rebels' de facto state in the north, said military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara. Army troops and the air force launched a joint offensive on rebel bunkers in Kilinochchi district, triggering a furious battle that killed 18 rebels and four soldiers, he said. The same fighting wounded 31 soldiers.