Sri Lankan Air Force Launches Air Strikes Against Tamil Rebel TargetsSri Lankan air force jets Tuesday launched air strikes against separatist Tamil rebel targets hours after a rebel attack on an air force base and the adjoining international airport, the Defense Ministry said.Military spokesman Sanath Karunaratne said the air force jets attacked targets of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the north of the country but he dit not give details. The LTTE rebels mounted a pre-dawn attack on Tuesday against an airforce base and the country's only international airport some 30 kilometers northeast of capital Colombo. Military officials said that the rebels destroyed eight military planes and five passenger aircrafts in the attack. Nine rebels were killed and five military personnel as well as three civilians also died in the fighting. The LTTE rebels have been fighting against government forces since 1983 in the north and east of the country for an independent Tamil homeland. The bloody war has killed more than 64,000 people. |
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