4 Soldiers, 14 Rebels Die in Sri Lanka Clash
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COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Four soldiers and 14 separatist Tamil guerrillas were killed Wednesday in a gun battle in a village on Sri Lanka’s northeastern coast, official sources said.
They said the battle, which raged for more than five hours, started when a large group of guerrillas attacked an army detachment at Kokkillai village.
Security forces repulsed the attack after reinforcements arrived from an army base at Vavuniya, 40 miles away. Two of the soldiers died in combat and the other two were killed when a vehicle bringing reinforcements struck a land mine, they said.
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