Artillery duels kill 27 in Lankan war front

Artillery exchanges left at least 25 Tamil rebels and two Sri Lankan soldiers dead, the defence ministry said yesterday after the president vowed to destroy the separatist guerrillas.
Ten soldiers were also wounded in the heavy fighting in the north of the island on Sunday, the ministry said.
President Mahinda Rajapakse told a public rally in central Sri Lanka the same day that the government had no plans to halt the military operations against the Tigers.
His office said he reiterated that until "every inch of land is captured and the last terrorist is destroyed" his government will not call off "liberation operations against the LTTE."
There was no immediate comment from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which has been fighting for an independent homeland for minority Tamils since 1972.
However, the pro-rebel Tamilnet.com website reported that the Sri Lankan military had pulled back after suffering heavy casualties following six hours of artillery fire in Mannar.
The rebels later seized military hardware after troops withdrew, Tamilnet said quoting LTTE local commanders.