Sixty-two LTTE rebels were killed in aerial and naval attacks by Sri Lankan troops this week in the island's north and east, an army spokesman claimed on Saturday. Quoting LTTE wireless radio intercepts, Brig. Sanat Karunaratne said that 32 tigers were killed in aerial bombardment on several LTTE camps by Israeli made KFIR jets in eastern Trincomalee district on October 31. Besides suffering heavy casualties, the rebels lost vast amounts of fuel and other essential supplies in the attack, he claimed. He said that 30 rebels were killed in a naval attack on a flotilla of rebel boats in northeastern Mullaithivu Coast on November 1 in which three boats were destroyed while three others suffered extensive damages. The boats were reportedly carrying reinforcements to northern Jaffna peninsula. The LTTE cadres who survived the naval attack later hijacked a Russian cargo vessel with 22 crew on board and escaped on it to Mullaithivu Coast. The Russian vessel which was on its way from Nagapattinam in coastal Tamil Nadu to Colombo was subsequently released along with crew members. The Lankan Navy refrained from firing at the vessel fearing civilians casualties, the spokesman said. Bureau Report