Colombo  - A female journalist was shot and injured by an unknown gunman on Monday night in eastern Sri Lanka, military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said.

Colombo – Sri Lanka's military said it had killed 37 Tamil separatist rebels Thursday amid mounting casualties on both sides in fierce fighting in northern Sri Lanka.

Both the military and the rebels said Thursday that heavy fighting had taken place over the past two days in the Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu districts, where government troops have been advancing into rebel-controlled areas.

Colombo - Government troops were closing in on a Tamil rebel stronghold in northern Sri Lanka Wednesday, military officials said.

Troops were heading towards Mallawi, a town that served as an administrative centre for Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE) rebels, 290 kilometres north-east of the capital, a Defence Ministry statement said late Tuesday.

Parts of Mallawi town were captured on Monday, but more areas surrounding the town needed to be captured to take control of the area, it said.

Colombo – At least 50 Tamil rebels and seven soldiers were killed in fighting in northern Sri Lanka, the military said Wednesday as the government pushes its offensive to regain territory held by the separatist guerillas there by the end of the year.

Fighting was reported from the Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu and Vavuniya districts, more than 300 kilometres north of Colombo, a military spokesman in Colombo said.

Colombo  - Government troops were closing in on a Tamil rebel stronghold in northern Sri Lanka Tuesday as fighting continued elsewhere the region, military officials said.

Troops were heading toward Mallawi, 290 kilometres north-east of the capital, after taking control of the outer areas of the rebel stronghold.

Parts of Mallawi town were captured on Monday, but government troops had not yet taken complete control of the area.

A Tamil rebel administrative office was reported to have been overrun in Mallawi town.

The military said that several trunk roads used by the rebels run through the Mallawi town, making it strategically important.

Colombo, Aug. 30 : At least 43 people have been wounded in an explosion in a Colombo market on Saturday.

Military sources said that the blast occurred near the city''s main bus station, and added that no one had claimed responsibility as yet for the incident.

The blast comes as Sri Lankan forces continue to penetrate large tracts of rebel Tamil territory in the north and east of the island-nation, leading to the fleeing of tens of thousands of people from their homes in Kilinochchi District.