June 24, 2008	Tuesday	Jamadi-us-Sani 19, 1429

COLOMBO, June 23: At least 70 Tamil Tiger rebels were killed in renewed heavy fighting over the weekend, the military said on Monday amid increased land, sea and air attacks on LTTE-controlled territory in the north.

“Troops killed 60 LTTE terrorists in heavy clashes that took place over the weekend,” a military spokesman said.

The military acknowledged the death of only six soldiers but admitted that over 30 soldiers were injured in the fierce clashes.

The fighting came as a high-powered Indian delegation arrived in Sri Lanka raising speculation of Indian peace mediation. India’s Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon,National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan and India’s Defence Secretary Vijay Singh arrived in Colombo last Friday and carried out closed door discussions with Sri Lankan leaders on the island’s bloody war, political and diplomatic sources said.

According to informed sources, the Indian delegation had expressed their reservations about a military solution to the Tamil ethnic question in Sri Lanka.

Tamil Tiger officials were unavailable for comment about the possibility of India facilitating talks between the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE. However, the pro rebel website Tamil Net said the guerillas had put up stiff resistance to military attempts to advance into rebel-held areas in the far north on Sunday.

According to the website, 18 soldiers were killed and more than 31 wounded in the confrontations. Despite the surge of hope for the renewal of peace talks government sources said President Mahinda Rajapakse had specified that if the Tiger separatists were to re-enter negotiations they would have to disarm first, an order the LTTE has vowed they would never adhere to.