Sri Lankan Navy sinks 12 Tamil Tiger craft

Sri Lanka's Navy says it sank 12 Tamil Tiger craft in a naval battle off the island's northern tip, killing dozens of guerrillas including suicide fighters, but the rebels dismissed the claim.

The clash at sea near the besieged Army-held Jaffna peninsula comes amid five weeks of intense fighting after four years of ceasefire, and as the Army seeks to wrest control of rebel territory near a strategic port in the island's northeast.