Dozens of Sri Lankan troops and Tamil Tiger rebels were killed in heavy fighting in the north of the island on Wednesday, with air force jets bombing rebel positions. The Sri Lankan Army (SLA) said 52 rebels and 38 soldiers were killed in the clashes in the Jaffna Peninsula on the island's northern tip.
The Tigers said they had repulsed a government assault, killing more than 100 soldiers and only 16 rebels died. Fighting between government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam has intensified since the government formally pulled out of a 6-year-old ceasefire pact in January, though a renewed civil war has been raging since 2006. "LTTE terrorists came and attacked our forward line this morning, we have retaliated and captured about 400 to 500 metres of LTTE area in Muhamalai," said military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara.
The Air force said fighter jets bombed rebel artillery positions and a rebel regrouping position and MI-24 helicopter gunships attacked the rebels in support of the ground troops. The Tigers, fighting for an independent state in the north and east, said they have thwarted a large-scale Sri Lankan Army attempt to overrun rebel positions on a 7 km (4.4 miles) wide front.