said some 200 guerrillas and 30 soldiers were killed in fierce fighting on Monday when rebels attacked troops advancing towards Mankulam, about 260 km (165 miles) northeast of the capital, on the main highway to the northern Jaffna peninsula. Four army officers were among the dead. Government troops, supported by planes, tanks and artillery, struck back and forced the rebels to retreat, officials said. Estimates putting rebel dead at 200 were based on intercepts of Tamil Tiger radio transmissions and nearly 100 bodies seen on the battlefield by government troops, the officials added. The toll from Monday raised to 414 the number of dead since troops resumed their campaign on Sunday to capture the highway linking the government-held front line town of Vavuniya to the Jaffna peninsula. The defence ministry had earlier said 34 soldiers and 150 rebels were killed in fighting on Sunday as thousands of troops advanced towards Mankulam, the last big town on the highway. A Defence Ministry statement said the rebels were having difficulty taking out their dead and wounded after the military blocked key road links to the guerrilla-controlled area near northeastern Mullaitivu. The rebels also faced a shortage of food and medicine, it said. "The latest information is that large groups of terrorists (rebels) are retreating towards east and west, leaving behind small groups to interfere with the army," the ministry said. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), fighting since 1983 for a Tamil homeland in the north and east, said they beat back a two-pronged military advance on Monday, inflicting heavy losses on government troops. A statement from the London office of the rebels late on Monday said they had recovered the bodies of 19 soldiers and 22 guerrillas had been killed. The rebels gave no details of the fighting on Monday. Independent confirmation of the reports was not available as journalists are not allowed into the war zone. It was also not clear if fighting was continuing on Tuesday. In a separate incident on Tuesday, rebels fired a missile at three MI17 helicopters carrying troops on the eastern coast but the pilot of the leading helicopter activated his anti-missile system and deflected the missile. The Sri Lankan military captured Jaffna, the former LTTE stronghold, last year but all troop movements and transport of essential items to the peninsula are either by sea or air. The operation, "Sure of Victory", slowed after the rebels launched several counter-attacks, but the military has been edging its way forward during the past few weeks. The government says more than 50,000 people have been killed in the war since it began 14 years ago. The LTTE say the toll is higher.