The Sri Lankan navy destroyed two Tamil Tiger boats on Saturday off an island in the country's restive north, killing six rebels, a naval spokesman said, the second military engagement at sea in less than 24 hours.
On Friday, the navy destroyed seven Tamil Tiger craft in a major sea battle, killing at least 35 rebels off the northern Jaffna peninsula.
The latest clash took place near the government-controlled Kytes island off the Tamil-dominated peninsula after navy patrol boats spotted rebel craft approaching the island. "All six LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) members on board were killed," Commander D.K.P. Dassanayake told Reuters.
Sri Lanka has seen a surge in violence in the past few months, raising doubts about the success of peace talks between the government and the LTTE in Geneva on October 28-29. Friday's clash saw rebels and government forces fight for hours off the coast of the Jaffna peninsula. Two sailors were wounded in the fight.
Pro-rebel Web site www.tamilnet.com said the LTTE denied suffering casualties and that rebel boats had damaged two navy attack boats. It said the rebels were attacked first by the navy.
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