A spokesman at the Media Centre for National Security said, "Troops went ahead and attacked terrorist bunker lines in Muhamalai and Nargerkovil in Jaffna Peninsula Thursday morning destroying eight bunkers and killing four terrorists".

He said 15 rebels and a soldier were killed in clashes in Vavuniya and Jaffna Peninsula on Wednesday.

The Tigers, who say they are fighting for an independent state for minority ethnic Tamils in the north and east, were not immediately available for comment.

About 5,000 people have been killed in fighting between the military and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) fighters since early 2006.

Nearly 70,000 people have been killed and hundreds of thousands displaced since the war erupted in 1983. © 2007 Australian Broadcasting Corporation