COLOMBO, March 3: Artillery exchanges left at least 25 Tamil rebels and two Sri Lankan soldiers dead, the defence ministry said on Monday after the president vowed to destroy the separatist guerrillas.

Ten soldiers were wounded in the heavy fighting in the north of the island on Sunday, the ministry said.

It said that the military also carried out fresh air attacks against a suspected Tamil Tiger communications centre inside rebel-held territory on Monday. There were no further details.

President Mahinda Rajapakse told a public rally in central Sri Lanka on Sunday that the government had no plans to halt military operations against the Tigers.

His office said he reiterated that until “every inch of land is captured and the last terrorist is destroyed” his government will not call off “liberation operations against the LTTE”. There was no immediate comment from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.—AFP