A Tamil Tiger hideout in northeastern Sri Lanka was attacked by the rival renegade faction, a defense official said Wednesday.

The attack on the main stream Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)rebels at Welikanda, 248 Kms north of Colombo, took place at around 07:00 a.m.local time (0100 GMT) in an area controlled by the Tigers.

At least two main stream members had died due to small arms and rocket propelled grenade fire, officials said.

Unofficial figures rated the death toll higher although there was no confirmation of the attack from the Tigers.

The rival faction led by the renegade commander Vinayagamurthi Muralitharan alias Karuna has carried out sustained attacks against the Tiger main faction ever since Karuna broke away from the LTTE in March 2004.

Around 16 Tiger members were believed to have been in the hideout at the time of attack.

Two T56 rifles had been recovered from the scene, the official added.

The internecine clashes have hampered efforts to revive the stalled Norwegian bid for a negotiated settlement.

Source: Xinhua