Troops, Rebels Clash Near Base; 200 Slain

More than 200 Sri Lankan troops and Tamil rebels have been killed in pitched artillery battles north of a key military base, the Defense Ministry said. Ground troops estimate that more than 150 Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam rebels were killed as the guerrillas tried to push north of Elephant Pass, the ministry said. The Tamil Tigers said Monday that they had launched a massive sea and land attack and overrun several army camps near the Elephant Pass base, about 190 miles north of Colombo, the capital. The ministry statement said two officers and 50 soldiers had been killed and nine officers and 266 soldiers wounded.