The attacks came a day after the government held a formal military ceremony celebrating its recapture of the east from the rebels. The Tamil rebels, who still control a virtual state in the north, have vowed to retaliate for the military's offensive in the east.

About 2:30 a.m. Friday, the rebels struck, attacking soldiers guarding the front lines in the Mannar district separating government-held areas from rebel territory in the north.

The military repelled the attack, which killed three soldiers and wounded four others, said Lt Col Upali Rajapakse, a senior military officer. He said troops killed at least nine rebels and wounded 24.

However, rebels said they killed 10 soldiers and lost only four of their fighters. It was not possible to reconcile the conflicting death tolls given by the two sides. Both often inflate the other's casualties and lower their own.

Rebel military spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan said the attack on the army post was meant as a pre-emptive strike. "This camp was causing a lot of harassment to our fighters," he said.

Steinar Sveinsson, a spokesman for the Scandinavian mission monitoring a tattered 2002 truce, said he had no information about the latest clash.

Also Friday, army troops killed three rebels in the eastern Batticaloa district, said a military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media.