COLOMBO, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayake has said that the government troops are nearing the Tamil Tiger headquarters located in the island's north.

　　Addressing an election rally on Tuesday in the southeastern Sabaragamuva province's Kuruwita area, Wickramanayake said, "My friends, our forces would soon take Kilinochchi, although I can't predict a date, it could happen soon".

　　Kilinochchi and Mullaithivu are the two districts in the north where the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels are currently confined to while battling the advancing government troops.

　　Wickramanayake said with the conquering of Kilinochchi by the government troops "the menace of terrorism which plagued our country over the last 30 years would end".

　　The government says it is determined to crush the LTTE rebellion by the year end. The rebels have been fighting in the north and east since the mid 1980s with the aim of setting up a separate homeland for the minority Tamil community. More than 70,000 people have died in the conflict.

　　However, since the middle of last year, the government troops have recorded a series of military victories against the rebels, who were completely evicted from the eastern province in July 2007and the troops are continuing their march to the rebels held areasin the north.

　　Meanwhile, the defense officials here Tuesday said that some 19rebels had been killed in separate clashes in the north on Monday while 21 more were injured. The Army lost five soldiers in the battles.