COLOMBO, July 26 (Xinhua) -- The military in Sri Lanka said Saturday that some 40 dead bodies of Tamil Tiger rebels are to be handed over to the rebels through the International Committee of the Red Cross.

    Officials from the Ministry of Defense said the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels were killed in confrontations with government troops in the northern Vavunikulam area on Friday.

    They said 29 of such bodies are currently being kept at a hospital in Vavuniya and they will he handed over to the LTTE on completion of the post-mortem.

    The troops now engaged in battle with the LTTE have entered the rebel heartland in the north.

    Fierce clashes have been reported with troops gaining the upper hand, defense officials in the capital noted.

    The government's military action which resulted in the complete annihilation of the LTTE in the Eastern Province is now focused on the districts of Mullaithivu and Kilinochchi in the north.

    The LTTE has been fighting against the government since the mid-1980s to establish an independent homeland for the island's minority Tamils, which led to the death of more than 70,000 people.