Sri Lankan government troops have shot dead 12 suspected Tamil Tiger rebels, the defence ministry said Friday, the day after the rebels attacked the capital and a key naval base.

Security forces killed the suspected Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) fighters along front lines in northern Vavuniya district, the defence ministry said in a statement. The first deaths came in clashes early Thursday.

"Initially 10 LTTE cadres were killed in a successful assault launched by the army," the statement said. "Subsequently, two more Tiger cadres were killed in a separate incident."

The claim came a day after the Tiger rebels blew up an army bus in Sri Lanka's capital, killing one soldier, and stormed a naval base where they claimed 35 sailors were killed. This figure is disputed by the government.

"The incident in Delft in the wee hours of yesterday clearly indicates that the LTTE has not given up their idea of capturing Jaffna, which is considered the nerve centre of their activities," the Daily News said.

Fighting has intensified across the island in recent days, and on Wednesday the International Committee of the Red Cross said it had pulled its staff away from northern front lines dividing government and rebel forces.

The Tigers ran Jaffna as a de facto separate state for five years before security forces drove them out in December 1995.

Numerous small islands around Jaffna are seen as potential launching pads for any rebel offensive against the Tamil-majority peninsula.

In its "Defence Column," which reflects government thinking, the newspaper noted that Thursday's attack on Delft -- as well as the bombing of a military bus in the capital Colombo -- had ended a month-long lull in rebel attacks.

"The events unfolded yesterday as security forces and also the public were on alert about a pending air attack by the LTTE targeting a security or economic nerve centre on Colombo or the north or east," the daily said.