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COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) - Sri Lankan police commandos flushing out Tamil Tiger remnants killed two rebel fighters hiding in jungle in the east of the island, the military said Saturday.
Military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara said the commandos confronted the guerrillas from the defeated separatist group in Ampara district on Friday. After an exchange of fire, the commandos recovered the two bodies, assault rifles, ammunition and food stocks, Nanayakkara said.
No commandos were hurt in the battle, he said.
The government last month declared victory in a quarter-century civil war against the Tamil Tigers after crushing its resistance and killing its military and political leaders. However, officials say there may be hidden rebel cells operating in the jungle and suicide bombers in main towns.
One of the few surviving rebel leaders said in a statement late Friday that the Tamil Tigers' inability to win sympathy overseas had caused its downfall. The group began fighting for an independent homeland for minority Tamils in 1983, after decades of marginalization by the Sinhalese ethnic majority.
Selvarasa Pathmanathan, the Tamil Tigers' international spokesman, said that despite demonstrations around many European capitals by expatriate Tamils, "we were unable to move the nations of the world in support of our legitimate cause."
"We were only able to get these nations to voice their concerns and criticisms but were unable to get them to act to prevent the massacres or support our cause," said Pathmanathan, who lives in exile overseas. He does not disclose his whereabouts.
Tamil Tiger rebels were known for their use of suicide bombers and child soldiers. The group is banned in the United States and European Union as a terrorist organization.
According to United Nations, between 80,000-100,000 people from both sides died during the civil war. Thousands of Tamil civilians reportedly died in the final weeks of the conflict when the rebels were cornered on a tiny sliver of coastal land and surrounded by government forces.
