COLOMBO, DECEMBER 15: AMID claims and counterclaims by the Sri Lankan army and the LTTE over the number of killed during the fighting in the north since Saturday, the rebels today continued to shell coastal areas in Jaffna and made abortive bids to capture the strategic Elephant Pass garrison.One woman was killed and 15 others were injured in the intermittent shelling at Chanvackacherri and nearby coastal areas, reports from Jaffna said.Hundreds of people living in those areas have vacated their houses and migrated to safer places in the interior areas of the peninsula.The rebels, meanwhile, continued their attacks on the army's biggest garrison at the Elephant Pass, a narrow causeway that connected the peninsula with main land.Yesterday, army said it had repulsed repeated attempts by the LTTE to capture the garrison and claimed that its troops had killed over 500 rebels in the four-day battle. It admitted losing 11 soldiers and injuries to over 100 during the clash.However, the guerrillas claimed they had captured a key naval base and three small military installations on the eastern flank of the Elephant Pass. They said only 38 of their cadres had perished in the process.
