According to the military, on Thursday Sri Lanka authorities carried an air strike against the Tamil rebels, just a day after several militants were left dead in a major sea battle.

A Tamil rebel naval unit was attacked by war planes around dawn, AFP reports.

The defense ministry didn’t say anything about the casualties, but mentioned that a “Sea Tiger” training camp was hit during Thursday’s attacks.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa said that he wanted to destroy the rebels.

On Wednesday Rajapaksa said: "We are for a political settlement, but there is no point in talking about a political settlement without first defeating terrorism," the Associated Press states.

The air strike comes just a day later after defense ministry said that 11 rebel boats were sunk by the country’s navy and that 40 militants were killed.

According to the ministry, one sailor was lost and 11 others were missing after the attack on Wednesday carried out by the Tigers with two boats packed with explosives.

The rebels are saying that they’ve only lost four of their fighters, "Black Sea Tigers", and said that they have destroyed two crafts in the battle carried out in the north of the island.

Also on Thursday a police officer was killed by a roadside bomb in the east.

Rebel spokesman, Rasiah Ilanthirayan, send an email to the reporters saying that the rebels killed one soldier on Thursday when they’ve rejected a military offensive in Jaffna peninsula.

The defense ministry said that the death toll number of the Tamil rebels since December 1 reached 476.

Ever since the war erupted in 1972 tens of thousand have died from the military as well from the rebel’s side.