Colombo  - Tamil rebels mounted an attack on a joint navy and army security base in north-western Sri Lanka on Monday, a military spokesman said.

The military said government forces opened retaliatory fire and repulsed the attack, but Tamil rebels claimed that they seized arms and ammunition from the base and killed three sailors.

The attack was mounted on the beachfront Kondampiddy camp, 320 kilometres north of the capital, in the early hours of Monday by rebel cadres who arrived in a small flotilla of boats, the military said.

However, as government troops opened retaliatory fire, Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) guerrillas fled towards the north-east with their casualties onboard their boats, which then became targets of government ground troops supported by artillery, the military said.

One soldier was injured and another was missing following the pre-dawn confrontation, the military added.

But the LTTE's military spokesman Rasiah Ilanthiarayan, alias Marshall, said the rebel force had seized one rocket-propelled grenade launcher and other military and communications equipment.

The military denied the LTTE claims.

Government troops have been fighting the rebels in Mannar in a bid to recapture some of the rebel-controlled areas. (dpa)