The LTTE today declared a 10-day cease-fire to coincide with a summit meeting of South Asian leaders in Colombo next week. Sri Lanka's army is driving LTTE forces from camps in the north after capturing the east a year ago in the worst defeat for the rebels in their 25-year fight for a separate homeland.

Soldiers seized the main rebel naval base in the Mannar region July 16 and four days later won control of a nearby town, the Defense Ministry said at the time.

At least 44 rebels were killed in battles with soldiers yesterday in the northern regions of Mannar and Vavuniya, the Media Centre for National Security said in three statements posted on its Web site. Two soldiers died and six were wounded in the clashes.

LTTE military spokesman Irasiah Ilanthirayan didn't answer telephone calls to rebel headquarters in Kilinochchi seeking comment.

The Sri Lankan navy destroyed two LTTE boats and damaged two others today, the Defense Ministry said in a statement. Five rebel speedboats were heading toward Pulmoddai from Nayaru in the northern region when soldiers fired at the boats.

The LTTE is fighting for a separate homeland in Sri Lanka's north and east. The insurgency has killed more than 70,000 people. President Mahinda Rajapaksa said on July 13 his government is ready for talks with the LTTE if the rebels disarm.

The LTTE is designated a terrorist group by India, the U.S. and the European Union. The group was the first to use female suicide bombers and develop explosive belts and vests, the U.S. Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism said in a 2006 report.