Twenty-two Tamil Tiger rebels were killed and five soldiers injured on Friday in a major pre-dawn assault by the Sri Lanka [Images] Army in the eastern district of Batticaloa.

Security forces recovered the bodies of 22 suspected Tamil Tiger rebels near army defences at Mankerni in Batticaloa district after a pre-dawn heavy mortar bomb exchange, military officials said.

Five soldiers were wounded in the fighting, which followed intense air raids by security forces on Thursday evening.

LTTE guerrillas had launched an artillery attack on the army's defence line in the northern Jaffna peninsula, which was repulsed by the army, the officials claimed.

The fresh fighting erupted amidst hectic efforts by Oslo's special envoy Jon Hanssen-Bauer to make the government and LTTE agree on a date and venue for peace talks.