More than 26 people have died and 125 wounded in fresh clashes between the Sri Lankan army and Tamil Tiger rebels in the north of the country.The Sri Lanka army said it had attacked and overrun several rebel Tamil Tiger bunkers in the fighting.
An army spokesman said artillery and airstrikes had been first used against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam rebels in the Muhamalai area of the northern Jaffna peninsula, before ground troops moved in.
Hundreds of troops were involved in the offensive along the de facto border between government and rebel-held areas in the Jaffna peninsula.
Fresh fighting erupted in August when the Tamil Tigers launched a major attack along the peninsula.
The country has seen a significant rise in violence since December and more than 1,500 people have been killed over the last nine months.