Heavy battles after Sri Lanka claims sinking Tiger ships

COLOMBO (AFP) - Sri Lankan troops and Tamil Tiger rebels have fought fierce land battles after government forces said they sunk two ships carrying weapons for the guerrillas, officials said Monday.

An intense battle broke out in the eastern district of Batticaloa Sunday leaving at least two soldiers dead and 13 wounded, military officials said.

The rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said they killed three soldiers and captured the bodies, which were to be returned to military authorities through the Red Cross.

"A team of Sri Lankan army troopers tried to advance from Unnichai jungles towards LTTE positions (in Batticaloa)," Tiger spokesman Rasiah Ilanthiriyan said in a statement.

"Following a confrontation, the army troopers retreated leaving behind three dead bodies and several weapons and military materials."

The defence ministry in a statement said troops had caused "heavy damages" to the Tigers.

In another confrontation in the same district, troops killed four Tiger rebels, a military official said.

The clashes came after the navy said it sank two cargo vessels believed to be smuggling weapons and explosives for Tigers. There was no immediate word from the Tamil Tigers about the ships.

The navy carried out a similar attack on February 28 and sank an identical craft off the island's southern coast, according to defence authorities here.

There have been stepped up clashes between suspected Tamil Tiger ships and the Sri Lankan navy in recent months amid heavy fighting in the island's northern and eastern regions.

More than 4,000 people have been killed in a new wave of fighting since December 2005 between government troops and rebels fighting for an independent homeland for the Tamil minority.

The fighting comes despite a truce that has been in place, at least on paper, since February 2002.