Sri Lanka’s air force has said it has destroyed the headquarters of the Tamil Tigers naval base, located in the far north of the country.

Israeli-built Kfir jets attacked the base near the northern town of Mullaitivu, destroying fuel reserves and sparking a large blaze, according to reports from the defence ministry.

The Mullaitivu area is believed to be the home of reclusive Tiger leader Vellupillai Prabhakaran.

“We now understand that the base was the headquarters of the Sea Tigers and had a fuel storage tank beside other facilities,” air force spokesman Group Captain Ajantha Silva told the Associated Press, adding that casualties were inflicted in the air strikes.

The defence ministry added in a statement: “The base was completely destroyed, including its fuel storage facilities which burst into massive flames. The headquarter complex and many vehicles parked were also destroyed due to the strike."

The Tigers were not immediately available for comment, or to verify the claims. If confirmed, the strikes could prove to be a major blow to the rebel group, who are heavily reliant on the sea to transport arms, medicine and fuel supplies.

Military warplanes have been routinely bombing suspected rebel hotpsots in the island’s northeast since April last year, in what has marked a fresh wave of bloodshed in the nation.

The Sea Tigers are renowned for deadly suicide attacks against the Sri Lankan navy, ramming explosives-laden boats into naval vessels.

The air strikes came a day after military reports that government soldiers had killed four Tamil rebels in two separate clashes on northern Sri Lanka’s Jaffna peninsula.

Violence has escalated in recent days, with the military killing 23 rebels in the east on Monday.

A bomb blast on a bus at a military checkpoint killed 16 people and wounded 25 earlier this week, and rebels attacked an air force base near the capital in their first-ever air strike last week.

The rebels have fought the government since 1983 to create an independent homeland for the country’s 3.1 million Tamil minority, which has faced decades of discrimination.

A Norwegian-brokered cease-fire signed in 2002 temporarily ended more than two decades of fighting. But more than 4,000 people have died since late 2005 when violence flared again, though both sides still claim to be abiding by the truce.

At least 65,000 people were killed before the 2002 cease-fire.

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