COLOMBO: Sri Lankan soldiers captured three Tamil Tiger rebel bunkers and killed 24 guerrillas in fighting across the island’s restive north, the military said on Saturday.

Troops captured the three bunkers and killed eight rebels infighting on Friday along the north-eastern front of Welioya district, military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara said. Other fighting broke out on Friday in Vavuniya district, where 14 rebels were killed, and in Kilinochchi district, where two guerrillas were killed, Nanayakkara said.

On Saturday, air force helicopters bombed rebel bunkers in the rebel-held Mullaittivu district to support advancing ground troops, the military said in a statement. It did not give details of damage or casualties suffered by rebels in the raid.

With communication all but cut with the northern areas, rebel spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan could not be reached for comment.

Independent verification of the fighting and casualties was not possible because most journalists are banned from the war zone. Both sides have been accused of exaggerating enemy casualties and underreporting their own.

Fighting has escalated in recent weeks because of a government offensive deep into the jungles of the north, where the rebels control a de facto state. The government has pledged to crush the rebel group by the end of the year.

The rebels have admitted losing territory in recent battles but claim government soldiers are overextended and are walking into a trap.