Heavy fighting near Kilinochchi

[TamilNet, Thursday, 05 February 1998, 23:59 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers launched a fierce attack on the Sri Lankan Army which was trying to advance towards Kilinochchi, around 4.30 p.m. (12.30 GMT), today. SLA sources in the north acknowledged that the LTTE's counter attack was a major one.

Unofficial reports indicated that the casualties in today's fighting were heavy.

However, the SLA officially stuck to its line that only a few areas south of Paranthan in Kilinochchi remained to be cleared by the SLA reinforcements, which are trying to recapture areas taken by the LTTE.