COLOMBO, May 20, SPA _ Sri Lankan soldiers pre-empted an attempt by Tamil Tiger rebels to infiltrate a defense line in the restive country's north, killing threeof them, the military said Sunday. Troops manning the defense line in Muhamalai on thenorthern Jaffna peninsula, 300 kilometers (185 miles) north of the capital Colombo, killed the rebels Saturday evening, an official from the Defense Ministry's information center said on customary condition of anonymity in line with policy. Muhamalai lies between the government-held peninsula and an area controlled by the Tamil Tiger rebels. There was no immediate comment from the rebels, the Associated Press reported.--SPA www.spa.gov.sa/451393