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Sri Lankan air force base attacked by Tamil Tiger rebels; 3 dead, 16 wounded
Associated Press,
Sun March 25, 2007 19:53 EDT .
KRISHAN FRANCIS - Associated Press Writer - COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - (AP) Using air power for the first time, Tamil Tiger rebels bombed an air force base on the outskirts of Sri Lanka - 's capital Monday, killing at least three air force officers and wounding 16 personnel, officials said. ``Two attack aircraft belonging to Liberation Tigers carried out bombing raids at the Sri Lanka - air force air base.....and returned safely,'' rebel spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan told The Associated Press by the telephone from the rebel stronghold of Kilinochchi. Calling the raid ``the first major aerial attack by the Tigers, Ilanthirayan said: ``The attack is not only pre-emptive but also to safeguard our people from indiscriminate bombing by the SLAF (Sri Lanka - air force.),'' ``Other Sri Lanka - military installations will also be targets of our future attacks,'' he said, but did not elaborate. Silva, the air force spokesman, also confirmed that Monday's raid was the first by the Tigers using aircraft. The adjacent international airport was not hit, but it closed for some time and has since resumed operations, said a duty officer at the airport. The rebels justified their attack by saying that Sri Lankan planes were used for bombing targets in the rebel-held areas. ``Military offensives by Sri Lanka - security forces in the northeast have been dominated by air-attacks by SLAF (Sri Lankan air force),'' which has caused civilian casualties and damages to civilian property, Ilanthirayan said. The rebels from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam staged a devastating attack on the same air base in July 2001 and destroyed six civilian jets and over a dozen military planes. About 18 Tiger suicide fighters were involved in the ground attack that also left half a dozen security personnel killed. The Tamil Tigers have fought since 1983 to create an independent homeland for the country's 3.1 million minority Tamils after decades of discrimination by the majority Sinhalese. A Norway-brokered cease-fire signed in 2002 slowed the violence but hostilities spiked again in late 2005, with more than 4,000 fighters and civilians killed in the last 15 months, according to European cease-fire monitors. While both sides have not officially withdrawn from the cease-fire, soaring violence has rendered the agreement valid only on paper. An estimated 65,000 people were killed in fighting before the cease-fire.
Published: Sun Mar 25 22:40:29 EDT 2007
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