From correspondents in Colombo, Sri Lanka, 01:31 PM IST

Sri Lanka Navy Wednesday said they had killed at least 25 Tamil Tigers and destroyed six of their boats in a pre-dawn attack.

Navy spokesman Capt D.K.P. Dassanayake said the navy had spotted six boats of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels at 4 a.m. off the northeastern coast of Mullaithivu.

At least four of them were on a suicide mission.

The military says they are in the final phase of a campaign to crush the rebels who have been fighting for an independent homeland for minority Tamils for the last 25 years.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)