Sri Lankan soldiers have seized a rebel-held town in the country’s northeast after a fierce 36-hour battle, the defence ministry says.

Troops took control of Mulliawalai town on Friday after the gunbattle, a statement from the defence ministry said on Saturday. It provided no details of casualties.

Rebel spokesmen could not be contacted for comment on the ministry report because communications to much of the north have been severed.

Reporters are banned from the war zone, so Sri Lankan media must largely rely on government and rebel statements for information about the war.

Fighting between government forces and rebel Tamil Tigers has escalated in recent months with the military saying it has captured several rebel bases and large chunks of territory in the north.

Officials have pledged to crush the rebels by the end of the year.

The Tamil Tigers have fought since 1983 to create an independent homeland for ethnic minority Tamils, who have suffered decades of marginalisation at the hands of governments controlled by the Sinhalese majority.

More than 70,000 people have been killed in the violence.