Tamil rebel planes bombed government positions Tuesday in northern Sri Lanka in their second-ever airstrike. The military said six soldiers were killed but that the aircraft were turned back before reaching a key base.
The attack came amid rising fears that the government may be preparing a major assault on rebels in the north, and followed a bomb blast Monday aboard a bus that killed five passengers and wounded 35 near the frontier between government- and rebel-controlled areas.
The attack came amid rising fears that the government may be preparing a major assault on rebels in the north, and followed a bomb blast Monday aboard a bus that killed five passengers and wounded 35 near the frontier between government- and rebel-controlled areas.
The Tamil Tiger rebels said two airplanes carried out Tuesday's air attack on the government's Palaly military base in Jaffna peninsula, and that main armory and storage facilities were struck.
Lt. Col. Upali Rajapakse, a senior military official, said only one light aircraft was involved in the attack and that troops opened fire on it, forcing it to turn back before it reached the Palay base. But the plane dropped two bombs on nearby bunkers while rebels shelled the area.
Six soldiers were killed by the airstrike and shelling, Rajapakse said.
Lt. Col. Upali Rajapakse, a senior military official, said only one light aircraft was involved in the attack and that troops opened fire on it, forcing it to turn back before it reached the Palay base. But the plane dropped two bombs on nearby bunkers while rebels shelled the area.
Six soldiers were killed by the airstrike and shelling, Rajapakse said.
Also Monday, a bomb ripped through a long-distance bus as it traveled near the town of Vavuniya, killing five passengers and wounding 35, the Defense Ministry said. The ministry blamed the attack on the Tamil Tiger rebels.
Vavuniya, about 130 miles north of the capital, Colombo, is where the government has its last key garrison before the start of rebel-controled territory.
A cease-fire mediated by Norway in 2002 brought hopes of peace for a few years, but violence over the past 18 months has killed 4,000 people, taking the death toll from more than two decades of war past 69,000.
Vavuniya, about 130 miles north of the capital, Colombo, is where the government has its last key garrison before the start of rebel-controled territory.
A cease-fire mediated by Norway in 2002 brought hopes of peace for a few years, but violence over the past 18 months has killed 4,000 people, taking the death toll from more than two decades of war past 69,000.
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