Fierce fighting in Sri Lanka

Hostilities have broken out in the north again

Heavy fighting is raging in northern Sri Lanka after the military launched a fresh offensive against Tamil Tiger rebels.

The army says 32 soldiers have been killed and nearly 200 wounded in the fighting, while 75 rebels have died and 300 have been injured.

We suffered a lot of casualties because of anti-personnel mines and mortars

Defence spokesman Brig Karunaratne

There has been no word on the casualties from the Tamil Tigers.

The offensive came hours after the rebels called off a unilateral ceasefire, which had been in place for four months.

And in the capital Colombo, two small bombs went off near the residence of President Chandrika Kumaratunga.

Dawn offensive

The Sri Lankan military is facing stiff resistance from the Tamil Tigers as fighting rages in the north.

A defence spokesman said troops - supported by tanks and combat aircraft - advanced into territory held by the rebels in the Jaffna peninsula just before dawn.

"We suffered a lot of casualties because of anti-personnel mines and mortars," defence spokesman, Brigadier Sanath Karunaratne, said.

"But the operation is going well," he added.

The fighting is taking place north of the strategic area of Elephant Pass, the gateway to the peninsula that fell to rebel control just over a year ago.

Mortar and artillery fire is reported to have been exchanged in the area and fishing boats have been banned from the Jaffna lagoon - a sure sign, correspondents say, the fighting has flared up.

Colombo bomb

A member of the elite presidential guards was wounded when a parcel bomb went off near a high-rise building in Colombo's top security zone.

"A member of the Presidential Security Division saw the suspicious parcel. It went off when he tried to handle it," reports quoted a police spokesman said.

The blast area has been cordoned off

Another bomb was discovered and defused, police said.

The area was cordoned off and armoured carriers blocked the main road leading to the president's official residence.

Police and security forces throughout the country were placed on high alert after the Tigers announced the end of their truce.

It came as a major setback to an ongoing peace initiative backed by the Norwegian Government.

Oslo has been trying to facilitate face-to-face talks between the government and the rebels but have been unsuccessful thus far.

However, President Kumaratunga said peace talks were still possible.

"The door is still not closed to the [Tamil Tigers] to enter negotiations," she was quoted as saying by the state-run Daily News.