Thirteen Tamil Tiger rebels were killed on Friday by security forces in Sri Lanka's Ampara district, the military said.
The troops attacked a group of LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) rebels who were hiding in a jungle in the Panama area, the defence ministry said.
Thirteen LTTE rebels, including one of the group's explosives experts, were killed in the attack.
Officials said the Tamil Tiger rebels are cornered in a small area in northern Mullaittivu district following a massive military campaign against the LTTE recently.
The LTTE has been fighting the government forces for nearly three decades to set up an independent homeland for the minority Tamils in northern and eastern part of the country.
More than 70,000 people have died in the conflict since it started in the mid-1980s.