Series of battles kill 17 rebels, 1 soldier in volatile northern Sri Lanka

A series of battles between soldiers and Tamil rebels in northern Sri Lanka left 17 guerrillas and one soldier dead, the military said Saturday.

Army troops attacked two rebel bunkers along the front line separating government-controlled areas from the rebels' mini-state in northern Vavuniya district Friday morning, killing six guerrillas, said military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara.

In the neighboring Mannar district, five rebels died in artillery strikes, he said. Separate gunbattles in Vavuniya killed six rebels and one soldier on Friday.