Colombo - Sri Lanka's Navy and Air Force jointly attacked a cluster of Tamil rebel boats off the island's north-eastern coast on Tuesday morning, killing at least six rebels, military officials said.

Fighting broke out after the Sri Lanka Navy's elite Special Boat Squadron confronted a cluster of "sea tiger" boats off Nayaru, more than 370 kilometres north-east of Colombo, shortly before dawn.

The navy destroyed two of the boats while the air force attacked five of the boats fleeing the area, officials said.

Earlier Air Force spokesman Wing Commander Janaka Nanayakkara said the five boats were destroyed, but other military officials later said they only engaged the boats and did not confirm the damages.

The navy said that it suffered no casualties or damage. Ground troops continued their military operations in the areas recaptured since Saturday, and a fishing village in the Nayaru area that was retaken Monday.

Among the key areas captured were a coastal village in the north-western part of the country known and a strategic inland point on the northern highway.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa also extended the term of Army Commander Lieutenant General Sarath Fonseka for another year, although he was due to retire in December. (dpa)