Fierce Sr Lanka fighting kills 23 rebels, 8 troops

COLOMBO, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Another 23 Tamil Tiger rebels and eight soldiers were killed in battles in Sri Lanka's north on Sunday, the latest casualties in fierce fighting that has raged for days, the military said on Monday.

On Saturday, Sri Lankan troops captured an important training base in the north, including a system of underground bunkers, used by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

"Sunday's confrontations killed 23 LTTE terrorists and 46 were wounded," said a national security spokesman.

He said eight soldiers were also killed and 23 wounded in the fighting.

The military has conducted a barrage of land, sea and air attacks in recent days and claims its forces have entered the Vanni region in the north where the rebels' de facto capital Kilinochchi is located.

The Tamil Tigers are fighting for an independent state in north and east Sri Lanka for ethnic Tamils, a minority in the predominantly Sinhalese country. They were not immediately available for comment on the military's latest casualty count.

Some 5,846 rebels have been killed in the fighting, with the loss of 775 soldiers, so far this year, according to a compilation of military data.

Both sides frequently underplay their losses and exaggerate their victories. Independent verification of their claims is difficult.

Sri Lanka's government is pursuing a strategy to gradually retake the Tiger's northern stronghold and win the 25-year civil war that has killed more than 70,000 people. (Reporting by Ranga Sirilal; Editing by Paul Tait)