By Roland Buerk BBC Correspondent, Colombo

	There have been clashes near Mannar in recent weeks

The fighting happened near Mannar, the front lines that mark the boundary of the rebel held territory in the north of Sri Lanka.

A group of Tamil Tigers attacked a detachment of the Sri Lankan army with mortar and rifle fire.Both sides claim to have inflicted heavy casualties on the other.

Soldiers killed

Sri Lanka's military spokesman, Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe said the rebels were driven off and at least nine of them were killed with many more wounded. He said three soldiers also lost their lives.

The Tigers though claimed they had killed ten Sri Lankan army soldiers and lost four of their own fighters.

LTTE spokesman Rasiah Ilanthiriyan said subsequent army shelling had wounded a mother and her baby.

LTTE casualties

Neither side's account could be independently verified.

The incident comes a day after the Sri Lankan Government held a parade in the capital to celebrate driving the rebels from the East of the country.

The rebels have vowed to strike back at military and economic targets to reverse the Government's advances in the East - and to defend the areas they still hold in the North.