S.Lanka navy says 3 rebels killed in raid on base

COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lankan troops killed at least three Tamil Tiger rebels on an apparent suicide mission when they attacked a naval base in the southern city of Galle on Wednesday, a naval spokesman said.

"They came in three boats and we blew up all three of them. Two small crafts of the navy were damaged in the fighting," the spokesman said.

The Tiger boats sneaked into the base hiding between fishing boats in the adjoining harbor before attacking naval facilities, he said.

Special forces were searching the area for more guerrillas and there were no reports yet of injuries to soldiers, he added.

Another senior military officer said there were three explosions within minutes when the attack began.

Galle is about 70 miles south of the capital, Colombo, far from the northern and eastern strongholds of the rebels where much of the violence in the Indian Ocean island has been concentrated.

Galle was badly hit by the 2004 tsunami and has been the focus of reconstruction efforts by many aid groups.

The raid came a day after the government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) reiterated their commitment to planned peace talks in Geneva on October 28 and 29.

Few expect the talks to achieve a breakthrough in the face of continued fighting and deep distrust. Hundreds of people have been killed in spiraling violence since late July that shattered a truce brokered in 2002.

Last week, dozens of troops and rebels were killed and hundreds wounded in one of the deadliest battles since the truce.

More than 65,000 people have been killed since 1983 when the rebels began fighting for an independent Tamil homeland.