SRI LANKA ? Air force jets destroyed a Tamil naval base in Sri Lanka’s north Thursday, a day after a fierce sea battle and a wave of infantry attacks killed at least 66 rebels and 14 government troops, the military said.

Separately, a bomb blast blamed on the rebels killed four civilians including a child, the military said.

There were no immediate details on casualties from the airstrike, which came amid weeks of heavy fighting between the military and ethnic Tamil Tiger separatists in the dense jungles of northern Sri Lanka.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa said he aimed to crush the rebels, who have been fighting for a separate Tamil homeland for more than two decades, before he will enter a new round of peace talks.

As part of its offensive against the rebels, who control a de facto state in the north, air force fighter jets bombed and destroyed a naval training camp in the rebel stronghold of Mullaitivu early Thursday, military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara said.