Eight Tamil Tiger rebels and a soldier have been killed in a series of gun-battles in Sri Lanka's troubled northern region.
While four Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam rebels were killed in a confrontation with security forces in Mannar, two Tigers died in Jaffna, the Defence Ministry said in a statement.
Vavuniya region also witnessed a clash on Monday in which a solider lost his life, the statement said, adding that security forces recovered a huge quantity of arms and ammunitions in various search operations.
In a separate incident, troops foiled an attempt by LTTE cadres to infiltrate the Forward Defence Line in the north of Uilankulam on Monday, the army said. The ground troops confirmed that two LTTE rebels were killed in the confrontation,
The Defence Ministry, meanwhile, lauded the assistance of the civilians who helped troops uncover weapons in Trincomalee and Jaffna. "Increasing civilian support to the security forces has enabled troops to save many lives as they have been able to uncover large stocks of arms and ammunitions almost on a daily basis," the ministry said.
"Civilians living in the North and Eastern provinces have been giving their unreserved support to the security forces even amid the fear of reprisals by LTTE militants," it said.
In eastern Trincomalee, the army found two T-56 rifles, eight magazines, 230 rounds of ammunitions and a stock of military gear on Monday evening.