COLOMBO - Fierce jungle battles raged in eastern Sri Lanka yesterday as Tamil Tiger guerrillas killed 23 elite police commandos after the air force pounded their positions, killing at least 40 rebels, officials said.
Gunmen from the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) ambushed the Special Task Force (STF) commandos at Vellaveli in the district of Batticaloa, killing 23 and wounding several others, defence sources said.
