Sri Lanka Launches Air Strikes On Tiger Positions
Komfie Manalo - All Headline News Foreign Correspondent Colombo, Sri Lanka (AHN) - Government officials said its jets launched air strikes against suspect Tamil Tiger positions in the northeastern part of the country after the rebels reportedly blocked an irrigation canal. Policy planning minister Keheliya Rombukwella told the Agence France Presse on Wednesday that Israeli-built Kfir jets struck identified bases of the Tigers at Maavilaru and Hirugalaru in the northeast district of Trincomalee where the rebels have occupied the waterway. He said, "Purely as a humanitarian gesture, we were sending irrigation engineers to open the sluice gates that had been closed by Tigers. But they could not move without the support of troops. We have taken several targets by air in support of the ground troops who escorted the engineers because they were afraid to go on their own." The official Web site of the rebels, Tamilnet.com said two civilians were wounded in the attack and made no mention of casualties among its ranks. The Web site quotes a Tamil regional leader S. Elilan as saying that two houses were destroyed in the air raid. He said three sorties had been carried out in the farming area. UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres was visiting the rebel-controlled town of Kilonichchi for a dialog with Tiger political wing leader S. P. Thamilselvan when the air strikes were launched. Rombukwella, who is |
