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Tamil Tiger air strikes on bases | |
(about 5 hours later) | |
Tamil Tiger rebels have bombed military targets in the north-east of Sri Lanka using light aircraft. | |
Two military installations were hit by the rebels across the front line in the Welioya region, a security source said. | |
They dropped three bombs before flying back, the military said. Security forces have just launched a fresh drive against the Tigers in the area. | |
It was the fifth rebel aerial strike since the Tigers created an air force a year ago. | |
The attack came as police arrested nine people over a suspected rebel bomb blast that killed 26 people on a bus near the capital, Colombo, during rush hour on Friday evening. | |
Jets scrambled | |
Sunday's attack is said to have caused no damage but would indicate the rebels have the coordinates of military targets. | Sunday's attack is said to have caused no damage but would indicate the rebels have the coordinates of military targets. |
"They came and dropped three bombs," said military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara. | |
"Nobody was hurt, and no damage to any property." | |
Troops on the ground had fired, and Air Force interceptor jets were scrambled, but the planes got away, he added. | |
The rebels have a number of Czech-built, two-seater, propeller-driven aircraft which were reportedly smuggled into the country in pieces before being reassembled and modified to carry bombs, says the BBC's Roland Buerk in Colombo. | |
This was the first time the planes have been deployed since last October, when they backed up a ground assault on an air force base in Anuradhapura by a Tiger suicide squad, our correspondent adds. | |
The Tigers have fought for a generation for an independent state for the Tamil minority. | The Tigers have fought for a generation for an independent state for the Tamil minority. |
At least 70,000 people have died since the civil war began in 1983. | At least 70,000 people have died since the civil war began in 1983. |