COLOMBO, April 3 (Reuters) - Sri Lankan troops killed 23 Tamil Tigers in clashes in the island's east overnight and overran four rebel bases, the military said on Tuesday.

"There are 23 confirmed LTTE dead," military spokesman Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe told a media briefing. "We have captured four bases without confrontation."

The Tigers were not immediately available for comment.

Monday's clashes in the eastern district of Batticaloa, where troops are seeking to evict the rebels from territory they control, came on the same day suspected Tigers bombed a civilian bus in island's restive east, killing 16 people, mostly women and children.

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