21 killed in fresh Lanka violence

At least 21 people were killed in fresh violence in Sri Lanka's embattled northern and eastern regions, military officials said yesterday.
Government forces shot dead five suspected Tamil Tiger rebels in the northern peninsula of Jaffna on Saturday, a military official said. He said two more guerrillas were killed in the same area late Friday.
A government trooper was killed and seven others were seriously wounded when a vehicle abandoned by the Tigers exploded in the eastern district of Batticaloa on Saturday, officials said.
They said troops were trying to start the engine of the abandoned vehicle when it exploded on Saturday.
Three soldiers and five Tamil Tiger rebels were killed in a gun battle in the northern Vavuniya region late Friday, the officials said.