Colombo: Sri Lankan Navy and Air Force attacked a Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) position near the eastern port of Mullaitivu on Tuesday morning.
The Lankan Navy attacked seven LTTE boats in Nayaru Lagoon in the northeast coast while the Air Force struck in the north in Killinochi. Navy officials claimed that they sunk two LTTE boats and severely damaged a third, killing six rebels.
When the remaining rebel boats fled to shore to be hauled out of the water, attack helicopters pounded them with airstrikes, military official said.
The sea battle came as the military pushed ahead with its multi-pronged offensive against the rebels' de facto state in the north.
It was not possible to contact rebel officials for comment because most communication lines with the north have been severed. Independent accounts are difficult to obtain from the battlefield because most journalists are barred from the war zone.
Meanwhile, ground battles continued across the war front, with troops attacking Tamil Tiger fighters in the Jaffna, Mullaitivu and Kilinochchi fronts and destroying several rebel bunkers, the military said.
In recent months, the government has pushed the rebels out of large swathes of territory they once held in the north and vowed to crush the group and end the island nation's civil war.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa has set November 26 as the deadline to complete the offensive against the LTTE.
(With inputs from Agencies)
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