Meanwhile, a soldier was killed by rebel mortar fire Thursday in Welioya, the military said in a statement.

Soldiers set off a roadside bomb that killed five rebels traveling on a tractor trailer Thursday in a rebel-controlled part of Vavuniya district, the military said.

Also Thursday, soldiers pushed into rebel strongholds and destroyed three bunkers, the military said. Separate firefights were reported in Jaffna, Vavuniya, Mannar and Welioya districts, the statement said. Altogether 24 rebels were killed in those clashes, it said.

Rebel spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan could not be reached for comment.

Each side often exaggerates the other's casualty figures while playing down its own. It was not possible to independently confirm the accounts because reporters have been barred from the war zone.

Tamil Tiger rebels have fought since 1983 to create a separate homeland for ethnic minority Tamils who suffered decades of marginalization by governments controlled by majority Sinhalese.

More than 70,000 people have been killed in the violence.Discuss this story Published: Fri Mar 21 03:33:04 EDT 2008

``He made us all proud by being with us, I became his fan by reading the '2001: A Space Odyssey' given to me by a friend,'' said Udana Marasinghe, a Colombo high school student who went to pay his respects Friday.

Born in western England on Dec. 16, 1917, Clarke earlier worked as a clerk and served in the Royal Air Force during World War 11 before moving to Sri Lanka - in 1956.

Clarke's 1968 story ``2001: A Space Odyssey'' written simultaneously as a novel and screenplay with director Stanley Kubrick was a prophecy of artificial intelligence run amok.

Clarke was to be buried Saturday at Colombo's general cemetery in a plot owned by his friend and business partner with whom the writer lived for decades. Published: Fri Mar 21 17:58:18 EDT 2008