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 COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) - Tamil Tiger rebels kidnapped 24 Tamil teenagers, mostly girls, who were attending a class preparing them for school exams, the Sri Lankan military said Tuesday.
But the rebels said the teenagers wanted to join their movement and went voluntarily to insurgent-held areas. They were asked to return home after guerrillas learned they were underage, rebel spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan said from the group's headquarters in Kilinochchi.
"They wanted to join our movement and had established contacts with our area people," Ilanthirayan said. "But when our area commander checked their ages, they were found to be underage and they were all released."
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