Sri Lankan Rebels Claim Victory; Hundreds of Deaths Reported

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka —  Tamil Tiger guerrillas claimed to have inflicted “a humiliating military debacle” on government troops Saturday, driving them out of newly captured territory in a battle that has left hundreds dead.

A Defense Ministry statement confirmed that government troops had pulled back to their original positions in Eluthumadduval, 18 miles east of Jaffna, in the face of heavy rebel shelling.

According to the government, three days of fighting have left 157 soldiers dead and 860 wounded. The Defense Ministry said 190 rebels have been killed and more than 400 injured.

But a rebel statement from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam said 75 guerrillas died. It put the government losses at more than 400 soldiers dead and 2,000 wounded.

Independent confirmation of the conflicting claims was not possible because the government bars journalists from the war zone.

On Thursday, the military claimed to have captured three square miles of territory and driven the rebels south toward the strategic Elephant Pass.

The rebels have been fighting since 1983 for an independent Tamil homeland in the north and east, claiming discrimination by the majority Sinhalese government.