COLOMBO, April 6 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka government forces and Tamil Tigers clashed at sea off the island's northwest coast on Friday, with the navy claiming it sank a rebel suicide boat and the insurgents claiming they sank a navy inshore patrol craft.

The clash, near the coastal town of Kalpitiya around 80 miles (130 km) north of the capital Colombo, is the latest in a rash of land and sea battles plaguing a new chapter in the island's two-decade civil war.

As with many remote clashes at sea and land battles behind enemy lines, there was no independent confirmation of what actually happened or how many people were killed.

"Naval inshore patrol craft detected five Tiger boats and confronted them," said Navy spokesman Commander D.K.P. Dassanayake. "During the confrontation, one suicide boat exploded."

"There was a huge explosion. You can't even find any debris," he added. "There were two Tigers on board. The other Tiger boats fled."

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, who are seeking to carve out an independent state in the north and east for minority Tamils, said only three of their vessels were involved in the clash and had returned to base safely.

"Our inshore patrol craft were patrolling as usual, and three navy patrol craft approached us and there was a short clash," said Tiger military spokesman Rasiah Ilanthiraiyan. "One of their boats was sunk and the remaining two fled the scene."

"Our commander said he saw seven military dead," he added. "Only three of our vessels were engaged and all returned safe and sound."

More than 4,000 troops, civilians and rebels have been killed in the past 15 months alone, and analysts say a war that has killed around 68,000 people since 1983 is escalating with no clear winner in sight.

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