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Sri Lankan Tamil Rebel Leader Killed
A separatist Tamil Tiger rebel leader has been killed by Sri Lankan government forces in an explosion in northwest of the country, the military said.
Government forces has identified the rebel leader as Anthony Jonson, who was the deputy leader of the Sea Tigers, the seaborne section of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
Military officials on Sunday said Jonson had been killed in an explosion in the Mannar district on Friday, but no further details were given.
The intercepts of LTTE radio transmission has confirmed that the Sea Tiger deputy leader had been killed, they said.
On Saturday the airforce carried out a series of air strikes against LTTE rebel bases in the north of the country to preempt rebel attack on the northern Jaffna peninsula following reports of rebel build-up in the area.
The latest air strikes against Tamil rebels was the first since April when both sides suffered heavy losses in the battle in the north.
The LTTE rebels have been fighting against government forces in the north and east of the country since 1983 for an independent Tamil homeland. The bloody war has killed some 64,000 people.
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