Sri Lanka says kills at least 20 rebels in gunbattle

COLOMBO, March 11 (Reuters) - Sri Lankan troops killed at least 20 Tamil Tiger rebels in a gunbattle in the island's restive east on Sunday, the military said, as fighting that has displaced more than 100,000 civilians in the area flared.

Troops confronted a group of Tigers in the eastern district of Batticaloa, where the military has mounted an offensive to drive the rebels from territory that they control under the terms of a battered 2002 ceasefire pact.

One soldier was also killed in the clash, while two elite police commandos were killed in a Claymore mine ambush further south in the district of Ampara.

"Forceful gunfire of troops killed at least 20 terrorists and injured many others," the Media Centre for National Security said in a statement.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) were not immediately available for comment. More >>