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Sri Lanka's Tiger rebels stage air attack against navy: military

AFP - Wednesday, August 27

COLOMBO (AFP) - - Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels Tuesday carried out their first major air strike in 16 months, dropping two bombs on a naval base in the northeast of the island, the defence ministry said.

Residents in Trincomalee, 260 kilometres (160 miles) northeast of capital Colombo, said they saw anti-aircraft fire illuminating the night sky while huge blasts were also heard in the strategic port town where the navy maintains a key base.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) carried out an "abortive air raid" at the naval base in Trincomalee, the ministry said in a statement.

"According to the available information, the terror aircraft have dropped two improvised bombs," the ministry said. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

The latest air attack by the Tigers came as government forces kept up a major offensive against the guerrillas inside their de facto state in the north. The military has claimed the upper hand in the latest ground battles.

The rebels staged a major air strike in April last year against two oil storage facilities in Colombo. The Tigers also flew their light aircraft in October 2007 during a ground attack against an airforce base.

The Tigers are believed to be operating five Czech-built Zlin-143 aircraft smuggled onto the island in pieces and re-assembled. Satellite images have shown that they have more than one air strip inside areas held by them.

There was no immediate comment from the Tigers about their latest attack. Residents in Trincomalee, contacted by telephone, said they heard anti-aircraft guns for about 15 minutes.

They also saw smoke from the naval facility area, but it was not immediately clear what caused it.

Military officials said the rebels appeared to have escaped with their aircraft despite a heavy barrage of ground fire.

Earlier on Tuesday, the defence ministry said security forces had killed at least 15 Tiger rebels for the loss of seven soldiers in an upsurge in clashes in the embattled north.

The new fighting raised the number of rebels killed by troops since January to 6,103, according to defence ministry figures. The government says 574 of its troops have died over the same period.

Casualty claims by the two sides cannot be verified as the military blocks media access to the front lines and rebel-controlled areas.

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.

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

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