The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Colombo

Fierce fighting broke out as Sri Lankan troops tried to move into the Tamil Tigers' mini-state in the north, with 15 rebels and three soldiers killed, the defence ministry said Friday.

Heavy battles along the Karambakulam area, just outside the rebels' political capital of Kilinochchi, late Thursday also left at least 18 rebels wounded, the ministry said.

It put government troop losses at three killed and 12 wounded. Casualty figures cannot be verified as the ministry bars independent journalists from travelling to the battle zones.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), who have been fighting for a separate state for minority Tamils in the island's north and east since 1972, did not comment on the military claims. According to a ministry toll, the LTTE has lost 6,677 fighters since January, when a Norwegian-brokered ceasefire was abandoned. The authorities say 649 government soldiers have died in the same period.

Government forces are battling to take control of Kilinochchi for the first time in a decade, as part of their plans to dismantle the LTTE's northern mini-state. The rebels, however, have warned that the large Wanni region, which includes Kilinochchi and Mullaittivu towns, could turn into a mass graveyard for government troops.

President Mahinda Rajapakse said this week that security forces hoped to capture Kilinochchi by December. The army wrested the island's east from the Tigers in July 2007.

Tens of thousands have died on both sides in more than three decades of bloodshed.