Colombo  - The Sri Lankan Navy destroyed a medium-sized vessel carrying a large quantity of military hardware for Tamil rebels in a pre-dawn raid off north-eastern Sri Lanka, Defence Ministry spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said Saturday.

The vessel was spotted and confronted off Mullaitivu, 410 kilometres north-east of the capital, he said.

Four more boats attempting to provide escort to the rebel vessel were also sunk in the same area, he said.

Health ministry of Sri Lanka has advised all Sri Lankan pilgrims to
take the polio vaccine before visiting India. Sri Lanka has eradicated
polio completely and it has not been reported in the country since
1993. But India has reported many cases of polio and most of the cases
have been reported from the states-- Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. As many
Buddhist places of worship are located in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh and a
large number of Sri Lankan Buddhists make pilgrimage in that states,
spokesman said.

According to a Health Ministry spokesman,

Colombo - Fighting between government troops and Tamil separatist rebels intensified in northern Sri Lanka as troops pressed into rebel strongholds, military officials said Wednesday.

More than a dozen rebels were killed Tuesday night in Ampakamam, Mullaitivu, 380 kilometres north-east of Colombo, the military said.

Government troops were consolidating positions after heavy fighting left at least 120 rebels and 25 soldiers dead and 10 soldiers missing Tuesday in clashes outside Kilinochchi, 370 kilometers north of the capital.

The Defence Ministry said more than 250 rebels and 160 soldiers were injured in clashes on Tuesday, but the pro-rebel Tamilnet website said 130 soldiers had been killed and 24 bodies had been recovered.

Colombo - Heavy fighting in northern Sri Lanka has left at least 120 rebels and 25 soldiers dead and 10 more soldiers missing, the Sri Lankan military reported Tuesday night.

The casualties were from fighting on several fronts in the Kilinochchi and Jaffna districts, more than 300 kilometres north of the capital on Tuesday, military spokesman Udaya Nanayakkara said.

Colombo - Government troops took control of a rebel-held village in northern Sri Lanka as they pressed the offensive into the the last strongholds of Tamil insurgents, the Defence Ministry said Monday.

Troops reportedly met heavy resistance as they advanced into Ampakamam village in the Mullaitivu district Monday morning, but no details of casualties were released.

The ministry said rebels had taken used the village as a command post during the government offensive.

The village is about 20 kilometres east of a key highway that army troops have retaken, military officials said.

Colombo- Fighting continued in northern Sri Lanka amid increasing casualties on both sides as government troops moved closer to strategic locations, military officials said Friday.

The army said its troops confronted rebels in several areas surrounding the town of Kilinochchi, 370 kilometres north of the capital, Colombo, on Thursday, inflicting heavy casualties among the rebels.

But Tamil rebels said the death toll among the army's soldiers had increased from 90 to 120 in fighting on Wednesday around Kilinochchi, a claim denied by the military.