COLOMBO, April 25: Government forces and Tamil rebels were locked in fierce combat in northern Sri Lanka on Wednesday, a day after the guerrillas bombed a key military base, the two sides said.

The defence ministry said that the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) shelled military positions in the Madhu area drawing fire from security forces.

The ministry said that a total of 21 Tigers were killed and another 28 wounded and placed its own losses at 3 killed and 23 wounded.

The LTTE spokesman Rasiah Ilanthiriyan said they beat back a military offensive into territory held by them and inflicted heavy casualties on the military.

“We have killed at least 10 government soldiers and wounded another 50,” Ilanthiriyan said from Kilinochchi—AFP