30 Rebels Reportedly Killed in Sri Lanka

Fresh fighting by separatists to seize a strategic causeway in northern Sri Lanka left at least 30 guerrillas dead, the Defense Ministry said Saturday.

The rebels launched a major offensive last month to recapture their former stronghold, Jaffna, which is about 180 miles north of the capital of Colombo. The rebels are trying to capture the Elephant Pass, a causeway that links the northern Jaffna peninsula with the rest of the country to the south.

In the latest fighting Saturday, the rebels tried to attack army artillery positions in Iyakachchi--near the Elephant Pass causeway--but were fought off by the soldiers, the military said in a statement.

Soldiers later found the bodies of 21 guerrillas in the area, the military said.

In another area in the Jaffna peninsula, seven rebels were killed when air force jets and artillery pounded a rebel armored vehicle in the Nagar Kovil area. Another two guerrillas were shot dead elsewhere in the north.