Tamil Tiger rebels set off a powerful mine in northern Sri Lanka Monday killing two policemen, officials said.
The rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) ambushed the policemen in the northern district of Vavuniya as they transported water for their colleagues.
The attack came a day after a heavy sea battle off Sri Lanka's northern coast in which five members of the LTTE's elite Black Sea Tiger suicide unit were killed, the rebels said over their clandestine Voice of Tigers radio on Monday.
The rebel radio said they damaged two navy gun boats during the attack.
On Sunday, the military said at least 20 rebels were either killed or wounded in the battle while one navy officer was wounded. The military said it destroyed three rebel craft and damaged two others.
Tiger radio also charged that the air force had bombed three coastal villages on Sunday, inflicting civilian casualties and damaging property.
There was no immediate reaction from the military to the reports of aerial attacks.
Tiger guerrillas are leading a campaign for independence in the island's north and east. More than 60,000 people have been killed in fighting in the past three decades -- Colombo, (AFP)
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