COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, December 25, SPA -- Sri Lankan soldiers killed 13 Tamil Tiger rebels in an artillery attack and gun battles along the northern front lines, the military said Tuesday. Troops stationed in the village of Pokkaravai, in Vavuniyadistrict, came under heavy rebel mortar attacks Monday. Troops repelled the rebel attack with a barrage ofartillery fire, killing two guerrillas, said a defenseministry official. The guerrilla assault wounded two soldiers, said theofficial on condition of anonymity as he was not authorizedto speak to the media. In the nearby Mannar district, separate gunbattles killednine rebels while in the northern Jaffna peninsula, twoTigers were killed, the official said. No immediate comment was available from the Tigers, according to a report of the Associated Press.--SPA www.spa.gov.sa/512047