COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - Tamil Tiger rebels say they killed 60 Sri Lankan troops advancing toward their de facto capital. The government says 12 soldiers died.
Meanwhile, the government says its troops have captured the strategic village of Nedunkerni in the northeast.
Clashes have intensified in recent weeks as the military continues a major push to capture the rebel headquarters and fulfil a promise to end the 25-year civil war.
The rebel-affiliated TamilNet Web site reports 60 soldiers were killed Saturday in Iranamadu village, just south of the guerrilla headquarters of Kilinochchi.
Rebels say they forced government troops to retreat from recently seized territory.
The guerrillas recovered 12 bodies of Sri Lankan soldiers, and 150 other troops were wounded. It did not provide the number of rebel losses.
Military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara dismissed the casualty figures reported by TamilNet and said soldiers were not in retreat.
"We have not pulled back. We are in the same locations," Nanayakkara said.
The Defence Ministry's Web site said that 12 soldiers were killed and 34 others were wounded in the fighting.
It was not possible to verify the rebel report because journalists are not allowed in the war zone. Both sides are known to exaggerate enemy casualties and under report their own losses.
Government forces have seized a large area of rebel-held territory in recent months and forced the Tigers into territory in the northeast.
However, troops have been locked in heavy battles at the edge of Kilinochchi for nearly two months amid heavy monsoon rains and stiff resistance by the rebels.
The Tamil Tigers have been fighting since 1983 to create an independent homeland for ethnic minority Tamils.
They have suffered decades of marginalization by successive governments controlled by the Sinhalese majority. The conflict has killed more than 70,000 people.
