Nov 21, Colombo: Sri Lankan troops advanced towards the LTTE heartland of Kilinochchi amid heavy resistance from the rebels and captured more rebel defences after intense fighting, the military said on Friday.

According to the defence sources, troops of Task Force 1 and 57 Division led three frontal assaults at the central Kilinochchi battlefront North of Kokavil, Murunkandy and North of Akkarayankulama on Thursday.

The Ministry said troops met heavy enemy resistance without giving any casualty figures.

Following intense fighting for hours Troops of 57 Division captured 3 LTTE bunker overheads in the general area of Murunkandy.

Task Force 3 troops operating in the general area Mankulama faced LTTE small arms fire yesterday but managed to thwart the attacks, the Ministry said adding that troops recovered bodies of two Tigers and 3 T-56 assault rifles during the subsequent search operations.

The Task Force 1 troops now advancing along the B-69 Pooneryn-Paranthan road have reportedly gained control over a stretch of the main road and positioned approximately 14 km from Paranthan Defence Ministry reported.

Government has stopped releasing casualty figures of its own troops but the pro-rebel Tamilnet.com website reported that 130 government soldiers were killed and another 450 wounded in this week's fighting. However, the rebels are known to inflate casualty figures of the security forces.