Twelve Tamil rebels and five Sri Lankan sailors were killed today in a clash near a western naval base, a navy spokesman said – the latest violence threatening to cause a four-year ceasefire to completely collapse.

A SUICIDE bomber on a motorcycle rammed into a car carrying Sri Lanka’s third-highest ranking military officer yesterday and blew himself up, killing the general and three other people, officials said.

A suicide bomber on a motorcycle blew himself up next to a car carrying a top Sri Lankan general today, killing the third-highest ranking officer in the military and three other people.