By Peter Apps

COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers launched a new attack overnight on the northern Jaffna peninsula, the army said on Thursday, as a U.S. envoy visited the island but the worst fighting since a 2002 truce showed no sign of abating.

The military said it had few details but that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) had launched a new offensive around Kilali, at the western end of the peninsula's front line. Since the Tigers launched attacks toward Jaffna last week, telephone communication with the area has been virtually cut off.

"There is an attack in Jaffna, that is all we can say," said an army spokesman. An aid worker reported heavy overnight artillery fire, although damage could not be assessed.

Pro-rebel website Tamilnet, which diplomats say invariably exaggerates Tiger successes just as the military plays them down, said the Jaffna government military airbase at Palali was hit with artillery.

Aid workers also reported much heavier than usual artillery fire overnight around the northeastern port of Trincomalee, which is just to the north of the area where ground fighting initially broke out over a disputed water supply earlier this month.

Located on the island's northern tip and birthplace of many of the senior rebel leadership, Jaffna is cut off from the rest of the island by Tiger territory and troops can only be supplied by sea and air.

Diplomats say there are conflicting reports over whether the runway itself has been damaged. They say they are also not clear whether the Tigers are simply trying to increase their stranglehold around Jaffna or are preparing to try and seize it.

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