COLOMBO: Sri Lankan soldiers launched a pre-dawn attack on Wednesday on Tamil separatists in the embattled north, triggering a battle that killed 13 rebels and one soldier, while fighter planes bombed a separate guerrilla base, the military said.

Troops pushed into Tamil Tiger rebel-held territory and seized took control of Kalaiadachchan village in Mannar district, military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara said. Twelve other soldiers were wounded in the fighting, he said.

Separately, air force jets pounded a Tamil rebel base in the northern rebel stronghold of Mullaitivu, Nanayakkara said. He gave no details of casualties or damage, but said pilots confirmed the assault was successful.

The battles and air attacks were part of a heavy escalation in fighting in the country’s civil war in recent months. The government has vowed to crush the rebels by the end of the year, but diplomats and other observers say the army is facing more resistance than it expected.

Rebel spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan did not answer calls seeking comment.

Scattered fighting across the north on Tuesday killed 51 rebels and two soldiers, the military said.

It was not possible to independently verify the military’s claims because journalists are banned from the war zone. Both the government and rebels often exaggerate the other side’s casualties and underreport their own.

The Tamil Tigers have fought since 1983 for an independent homeland for ethnic minority Tamils.—AP