The World - News from March 24, 1987

Tamil separatists shot and hacked to death 25 Sinhalese villagers, including five children, and killed 10 soldiers and wounded 13 others in separate attacks in Sri Lanka, government reports said. The rebels also captured 12 soldiers during a battle with security forces in northern Jaffna Peninsula, a rebel stronghold, officials said. The attack on the villagers was described as the bloodiest since Feb. 7, when 28 Sinhalese were killed in a Tamil raid. The Tamils, who say they are discriminated against by the majority Sinhalese, are fighting for a separate homeland.