Six of the soldiers belonging to a detachment posted to the park were killed in an attack by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam on Monday while the seventh lost his life in a mine attack Tuesday morning as reinforcements were being moved to the area.

In the northern Vavuniya District one soldier was killed and seven hurt following clashes with the LTTE, the army said.

The army claimed that more than 30 Tigers, officially labeled "terrorists," were killed Monday "in several preemptive strikes immediately ahead of their forward defenses" in the northern Jaffna District and the LTTE-held Wanni area.

There was, however, no independent confirmation of rebel losses, which analysts says are difficult to verify as both sides often overstate enemy casualties.

The Yala National Park, which had been closed, was due to be reopened for visitors this week.

The LTTE-led separatist war in Sri Lanka has claimed more than 65,000 lives since 1972, more than 5,500 of them killed after the fighting escalated in December 2005 despite a cease-fire agreement being in force since 2002.

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