Sri Lanka military says northern fighting kills 15

Sri Lankan air force jets attacked a group of rebel troops Thursday as ground troops overran a series of rebel bunkers. Some 13 Tamil Tigers and two soldiers were killed, the military said.

The new fighting was part of a resurgent government offensive that has captured large swaths of territory from the rebels in recent weeks amid a government pledge to crush the Tamil Tigers and end the 25-year-old civil war this year.

Speaking to the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday, President Mahinda Rajapaksa ruled out talks with the Tamil Tigers unless the rebel group commits to disarm, a demand the group has repeatedly rejected.

He also accused the rebels …