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 COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) - Separatist Tamil rebels attacked a military post in northern Sri Lanka with mortars and gunfire early Friday, sparking an hourlong battle that killed at least 12 combatants. Later, soldiers killed three rebels in the country's east.
The attacks came a day after the government held a formal military ceremony celebrating its recapture of the east from the rebels. The Tamil rebels, who still control a virtual state in the north, have vowed to retaliate for the military's offensive in the east.
About 2:30 a.m. Friday, the rebels struck, attacking soldiers guarding the front lines in the Mannar district separating government-held areas from rebel territory in the north.
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