Sri Lanka's Tiger rebels stage another air attack

Sri Lanka's Tiger rebels stage another air attack
September 9, 2008, 3:06 pm

COLOMBO (AFP) - Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels on Tuesday staged another air strike, the second in two weeks, and carried out an artillery attack in the island's north, local residents and officials said.

Residents in Vavuniya, 256 kilometres (160 miles) north of the capital Colombo, said they saw anti-aircraft fire illuminating the night sky while huge blasts were also heard in the de facto frontier town.

"We heard the noise of a light aircraft," a resident said by telephone. "Anti-aircraft guns of the military fired for about 20 to 30 minutes."

Police said one constable was killed and eight more wounded in the rebel attacks, while three civilians were also injured.

The defence ministry said the authorities tracked two aircraft of the Tamil Tigers and military jets managed to "intercept the terror aircraft and destroyed one of them."

Sri Lanka's air force said they destroyed the rebel plane as it returned to a clandestine base in the northern district of Mullaittivu.

There was no immediate comment from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) about the military claims, but the pro-rebel Puthinam.com website said the military carried out retaliatory air strikes inside rebel-held areas.

Puthinam said five shops in a town in the northeastern Mullaittivu district were hit by the government air attacks, wounding one woman.

Military officials said the Tigers shelled the main security forces' base in Vavuniya, drawing artillery fire from government troops.

Shortly after the artillery attack, the Tigers flew their light aircraft and dropped bombs on the Vavuniya security forces headquarters, a military spokesman said, adding that the damage from the rebel air strike was minimal.

"A few bombs fell on the airfield," a military spokesman said, playing down the damages from the guerrilla air raid and the artillery attack.

Two weeks ago, the Tigers carried out an air strike against the northeastern port town of Trincomalee. At least four people were killed and another 10 wounded in that attack targeting the navy.

The latest air strike by the Tigers came as government forces stepped up aerial attacks against the guerrillas inside their de facto state in the north. The military has claimed the upper hand in the latest ground battles.

The Tigers are believed to operate five Czech-built Zlin-143 aircraft smuggled into the island in pieces and re-assembled. Satellite images have shown that they have more than one air strip inside areas they hold.

Troops are braced for a fierce battle as the military tries to capture the LTTE's de facto state in the north after ejecting them from the east last July.

On Monday, the government asked the few local and international aid workers still remaining in the rebel-held north to leave immediately.

Tens of thousands of people have died since the LTTE launched a campaign in 1972 to carve out a homeland for minority Tamils in the majority Sinhalese island's north and east.