Sri Lanka's navy repulsed an attack by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) near Point Pedro in the north, destroying five boats and killing an estimated 40 rebels, the government said.

Naval vessels intercepted between 15 and 20 boats late yesterday off Point Pedro, the Media Center for National Security said on its web site. "Naval craft are engaging the withdrawing Sea Tigers," the center said. The LTTE boats, patrolling waters controlled by the group, forced the navy craft back to their base, TamilNet reported on its web site, citing local fishermen.

Sri Lanka's cease-fire, declared in 2002, collapsed last year as the conflict escalated between the army and the LTTE, which is fighting for a separate homeland in the north and east of the South Asian island nation. The Tamil Tigers have an estimated 4,000 members of their Sea Tigers force, as well as about 12,000 fighters in the north and east.

Naval forces damaged at least nine of the rebel vessels, the Media Center said in its statement. The Sea Tigers fired on the navy craft when they tried to enter waters controlled by the group, TamilNet reported. It didnt mention any casualties or whether any vessels were hit.

Two attempts at peace talks between the government and rebels held in Geneva last year failed to make any progress.
Sri Lanka's army in April took control of the eastern region around Batticaloa for the first time in 14 years. The LTTE responded by revealing it has an air wing in March when light aircraft bombed areas near the capital, Colombo.

Bandaranaike International Airport, which closed at night after the air raids, will return to 24-hour operations in a few days, the head of the island's Civil Aviation Authority said yesterday. "In principle, we have decided to go back to normal operations because the security concerns have been resolved," Parakrama Dissanayake, acting director of civil aviation, said in a telephone interview. "We had earlier given a three-month shut-down period as more of a technical message."

The airport has been closed between 10:30 p.m. and 4:30 a.m. since last month. Rebel aircraft on April 29 bombed oil and gas complexes at Kolonnawa and Muthurajawela near Colombo. A March 26 attack killed three air force personnel at the Katunayake base, which shares its runway with Bandaranaike airport.

Tourist arrivals have fallen since the collapse of the peace process. Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd., Hong Kong's largest airline, suspended flights to Colombo on April 29. Indian non- state carrier Sahara Airlines Ltd. suspended its flights to the island on May 10.

The LTTE, which is designated as a terrorist group by the US, the European Union and India, says Tamils, who make up less than a fifth of the population of 20 million people, are discriminated against by the Sinhalese majority.