Colombo: The Sri Lankan Navy on March 10 sank a Tamil Tiger cargo ship suspected to be smuggling weapons into the island, official sources said.

Sri Lanka Navy's largest offshore patrol craft Sayura led the attack on the unidentified vessel of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) off the coast of Mullaitivu on March 10 morning, the sources said.

They said four sailors aboard the Sayura, the latest acquisition of the Sri Lankan Navy, were wounded when the LTTE ship fired back in response to warning shots, the sources said.

Following a confrontation, the rebel ship caught fire and sank some 220 kilometres off the coast of Sri Lanka, they said.

The Scandinavians monitoring a truce between the government and the Tamil Tigers said both sides have brought the incident to the attention of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM).

The deputy head of the SLMM, Hagrup Haukland, said they had sent a monitor to the scene.

"It is a very serious matter and we are now trying to investigate," Haukland said.

The incident was the second in a month involving the Navy and the Tigers.

On February 7, three Tiger rebels blew themselves up aboard their trawler when the Navy cornered them with a cache of weapons. The gun running came despite peace talks between the government and the LTTE. The latest incident came just eight days before the sixth round of peace talks in Hakone, Japan.

PTI