COLOMBO, Aug 16: Air force jets pounded Tamil Tiger fortifications in northern Sri Lanka on Saturday, destroying a rebel bunker line as fighting intensified in the country’s civil war, the military said.

Heavy battles on Friday and Saturday across the front lines surrounding the dwindling area controlled by the rebels killed 23 guerilla fighters and two soldiers, the military said.

In recent weeks, troops have broken through the rebels’ defences and seized a series of key towns and bases. Government officials have reiterated their pledge to route the Tamil Tigers by the end of the year and end the nation’s 25-year-old civil war.

Raging battles in the Kilinochchi region killed nine rebel fighters, the military said. Fighting in Vavuniya, Welioya, Mullaittivu and Jaffna killed another 14, the military said.—AP