Intense fighting in northern Sri Lanka yesterday left at least 25 government troops and 120 Tamil Tigers dead in the ongoing battle for the rebels’ political capital, a military spokesman said.
Security forces carried out simultaneous attacks against Tamil Tiger strong points near the town of Kilinochchi and also on the Jaffna peninsula, military spokesman Udaya Nanayakkara said.
In a rare statement announcing casualty figures, he said that another 160 government soldiers and an estimated 250 rebels were wounded.
The defence ministry decided in October not to reveal daily casualty figures, saying they would affect military operations.
Nanayakkara said troops were consolidating positions they had captured from the Tigers, who have offered stiff resistance to government forces advancing on Kilinochchi, 330 kilometres (210 miles) north of Colombo.
There was no immediate comment from the Tamil Tigers, but the pro-rebel Tamilnet website said at least 40 government soldiers were killed and another 120 wounded on the Jaffna peninsula alone.
The website said fighting went on for nine hours.
It said the Tigers had beaten back the military’s advance in the peninsula, without making no reference to the fighting in the Kilinochchi area.
Security forces this week escalated their ground attacks against Tamil Tiger guerrillas after heavy aerial attacks using jets and helicopter gunships.
Soldiers captured the village of Ampakamam, southeast of Kilinochchi, from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on Monday and a road leading to the rebel military base of Mullaittivu on Tuesday, the ministry said.
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