Sri Lanka says sinks 3 rebel boats in sea battle

COLOMBO, June 19 (Reuters) Sri Lanka's navy sank three Tamil Tiger vessels after coming under attack from up to 20 rebel boats off the island's far northern tip today, the military said.

Today's clash at sea off Point Pedro in the northern army-held Jaffna peninsula, which is cut off from the rest of the island by rebel lines, was the latest in a string of land and sea battles and air strikes in recent months.

''We sank three boats, mainly with help from artillery and multi-barrel rockets from the land,'' said military spokesman Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe. ''Five clusters of rebel boats attacked our patrol boats. None of our boats was damaged.'' ''We think it might have been a diversion. We don't know what they were trying to do.'' The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), who are fighting for an independent state in the island's north and east and are widely listed as a banned terrorist group, were not immediately available for comment and there was no independent confirmation of what happened.

Fighting is now focused on the north after the military captured the Tigers' eastern stronghold. Around 4,500 people have been killed since last year alone.

The government has vowed to destroy the Tigers militarily, while the rebels say they will step up attacks using a home-grown air force of light planes smuggled into the country in pieces.

Analysts say there is no clear winner on the horizon and fear a conflict that has killed nearly 70,000 people since 1983 could rumble on for years.

REUTERS YA RAI2325