By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Government forces pounded rebel defenses with airstrikes and ground assaults as heavy fighting across northern Sri Lanka killed 49 Tamil Tiger fighters and seven soldiers, the military said Wednesday.
The new fighting came as soldiers closed in on the rebels' administrative capital of Kilinochchi in a campaign aimed at routing the guerrillas and ending a 25-year-old war that has killed more than 70,000 people.
Out of the newly reported battles, the worst took place Tuesday in Kilinochchi where 39 rebels and six soldiers died, military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara said.
The army has said its forces are about 1.6 kilometers from the outskirts of Kilinochchi.
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