Sri Lanka has stepped up air strikes against suspected Tamil Tiger rebel targets in the country’s north, a day after ground troops seized control of a highly strategic town.

The defence ministry says helicopter gunships and fighter jets have pounded defence lines of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam on the Jaffna peninsula and on the mainland.

The attacks came a day after Sri Lanka’s president asked Tamil Tiger rebels to surrender after troops said they had re-taken the town of Pooneryn from the separatist guerrillas following months of heavy fighting.

The government is banking on a military victory against the Tamil Tiger rebels after pulling out of a ceasefire in January.

Security forces have stepped up their offensive in a bid to capture Kilinochchi, the political capital of the Tigers in the north of Sri Lanka.

Military steps up attacks on Sri Lankan rebel targets