The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Colombo

Heavy ground battles across Sri Lanka's north claimed the lives of 59 Tamil Tiger rebels and two soldiers, the defence ministry said Friday.

Fresh fighting broke out on Thursday and Friday in the northeastern district of Mullaittivu as troops moved deeper into rebel-held areas, the ministry said. There was no immediate comment on the claims from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), although the rebels accused army commandos of setting off a roadside mine deep inside their territory on Friday, killing a local official. The latest government figures bring to 5,235 the number of Tamil Tigers the defence ministry has said it has killed since the start of the year while 456 soldiers have died during the same period.

Independent verification of casualty figures is not possible as the ministry blocks media access to the frontlines.

Tens of thousands have died since the Tamil Tigers began their campaign in 1972 for a separate homeland for minority Tamils in the island's north and east.

Earlier report adds: Sri Lankan forces battled rebel gunmen deep inside the nation's northern jungles Thursday, killing 25 guerrilla fighters and seizing new territory, the military said. Other battles killed 25 rebels and four soldiers, the military said. The fighting in the northern Mullaitivu district, a key part of the rebels' de facto state, began early Thursday morning and erupted into hours of gunbattles, said military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara.

Troops eventually captured a section of rebel-held territory about two miles south of the village of Mallavi, which lies along a key road the rebels use for moving troops and supplies, he said. Troops killed 25 rebels and recovered seven of their bodies, he said. The fighting has escalated in recent months as top Sri Lankan officials vowed to crush the rebel group by the end of the year. Though military gains against the Tamil Tigers had been relatively modest, troops in recent weeks seized a string of key towns and rebel bases, consistently chipping away at the guerrillas' power base.