COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s air force on Saturday bombed Tamil Tiger rebel territory, causing heavy damages, a day after ground clashes across the north killed 20 rebels and five soldiers, the military said.

The helicopter raid took place near the rebels’ de facto capital of Kilinochchi, the military said in a statement.

The government says the rebels are heading to defeat in their 25-year separatist campaign and that army troops are just one mile away from the edges of Kilinochchi.

Friday’s ground clashes erupted in Jaffna, Vavuniya, Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu districts, the military said.

Rebel officials could not be contacted for comment because most of the communication lines to the rebel territory have been severed.

The rebels have fought since 1983 to create an independent homeland for the country’s ethnic minority Tamils who have faced marginalization at the hands of successive governments controlled by majority ethnic Sinhalese. More than 70,000 people have been killed in the violence.