The separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said government troops had moved towards the coastal area of Vidattaltivu while firing mortars and artillery that caused unspecified civilian casualties.

The LTTE's Voice of Tigers radio gave no casualties in the latest fighting along two fronts in the north of the country.

The defence ministry said in a statement that 60 guerrillas were killed and more than 100 wounded since `Operation Whirlwind' was mounted on Friday near the town of Paranthan.

Earlier, the ministry placed its own losses at 16 but security sources said the toll was much higher and could exceed 125 on each side. The ministry said 13 more Tiger guerrillas were killed in the Vanni sector in northern Sri Lanka Saturday. The ministry did not say if securityforces suffered any casualties during the clashes.

On Saturday, the ministry said thousands of soldiers had captured some 30 villages held by Tamil Tigers after inflicting unspecified casualties among the guerrillas.

Government soldiers wrested control over the villages earlier dominated by the LTTE after a two-day drive that involved artillery guns and air cover for troops, the ministry said.

It said in a statement there were no face-to-face confrontations as the security forces took the guerrillas by surprise with the launch of the drive three days ago in an area 350 km north of the capital.

``Security forces were able to maintain surprise until the area was captured,'' the ministry said in a two-page statement on Saturday.

``LTTE locations in the adjacent areas were engaged by the air force and artillery after the completion of the operation. LTTE casualties are not known.''

Troops have taken an area of 358 square km from the guerrillas after the latest drive code-named `Ranagosha Four', theministry said.

The latest fighting ended a four-week lull in the island's embattled north-east where the guerrillas are fighting for an independent homeland called Eelam.

Last month, the army, backed by ground attack aircraft and artillery, won control over dozen villages after two days of heavy fighting that killed 42 rebels and 17 soldiers.

More than 55,000 people have been killed in the country's drawn out separatist conflict since 1972.