Fighter jets bombed the jungles of Thoppigala in the eastern district of Batticaloa on Saturday morning, the ministry said. It gave no further details.

Government troops and Tamil rebels have been locked in combat following the breakdown of a 2002 Norwegian-arranged truce.

The conflict has killed more than 5,000 people in the past 18 months.

There was no immediate comment from the rebels about the latest military claims.

Earlier Sri Lanka said it would not allow trucks coming from rebel-held areas in the northeast into Colombo after police claimed to have discovered explosives destined for the city in a goods carrier.

Residents in areas bordering rebel-held Wanni in the northeast were told not to send trucks south after police on Friday said they had seized 1,052 kilos (2,314 pounds) of C-4 type explosives from a truck.

Official sources in Vavuniya, 256km north of here, said they would not allow trucks or vans to go southward to the capital until further notice.