COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, March 30, SPA -- At least 55 Tamil Tiger rebelshave been killed in land and sea battles on Sri Lanka'snortheast coast as an army offensive moves forward in a bidto end 25 years of civil war, the military said Monday. Military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara said 26 rebelswere killed in a sea battle Monday off Chalai. Four boatsbelonging to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam were sunkin the battle, which lasted about four hours before dawn. A leader of the Sea Tigers _ the rebels' naval wing _ wasamong the dead while one government sailor died and threewere wounded, he was quoted as saying by Associated Press. Heavy ground battles between the army troops and theguerrillas on Sunday left 29 rebels dead, Nanayakkara said. The fighting came after government forces broke through afortification built by the Tigers to defend their laststrip of land on Sunday. A military statement said another senior Sea Tiger leader,known as Uththaman, who commanded the ground battle, wasalso killed. Nanayakkara did not provide details ofcasualties suffered by army troops. Verification of the reports was not possible becauseindependent journalists are not allowed into the conflictarea.--SPA www.spa.gov.sa/649275