About 20 rebels and five soldiers were killed in the ongoing fighting between government troops and Tamil Tiger rebels in northern Sri Lanka on Friday, the military officials said on Saturday.
Officials from the Defense of Ministry said the clashes erupted between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels and the government troops in Vavuniya, Kilinochchi, Mullaitihvu and Jaffna districts.
Officials said 43 rebels also were injured in the confrontations.
Defense officials also said a rebel sea wing deputy leader and two other rebels were killed in a claymore attack on his vehicle in the north on Friday evening.
However, the LTTE is yet to confirm it.
The troops said they were well on the way to capture Kilinochchi, the LTTE's administrative headquarters in the north.
The troops were around 2 km away from the rebel held town in their advance, officials said.
Kilinochchi and Mullaithivu districts are the last of the rebel strongholds.
Claiming discrimination at the hands of Sinhalese-dominated governments, the LTTE has been fighting for more than two decades to carve out an independent homeland for Tamil minorities in the north and east, resulting in the killing of more than 70,000 people.
Source: Xinhua
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