At least 17 people were killed and 25 others wounded when Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger guerrillas attacked a police station in the east of the country this morning.
The rebels briefly overran the Central Camp police station in Ampara District, some 240 kilometres east of Colombo, before they were beaten back by reinforcements.
"Clearing operations are still continuing, and we expect the death toll to rise," said military spokesman Brig Sanath Karunaratne.
He said 12 policemen were killed and 18 wounded by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels who were believed to have escaped with several more bodies of policemen.
"Two civilians were also killed while enemy radio transmissions reveal that the LTTE suffered three dead and seven wounded," said Brig Karunaratne.