Sri Lankan Air Force jets bomb suspected LTTE targets
August 14th, 2008 - 4:17 pm ICT by IANS
Colombo, Aug 14 (IANS) Sri Lankan Air Force fighter jets Thursday bombed four suspected LTTE targets in the rebel-held Mullaitivu district where the advancing troops have been locked in heavy fighting with the rebels for the past few months, military officials here said. “Our fighter jets bombed four LTTE targets located one kilometre east of Thunukkai in support of the advancing troops around 7.30 a.m. Thursday. The LTTE cadres were using these targeted positions to mount counter-attack against the military advancement,” air force spokesman Wing Commander Janaka Nanayakkara told IANS.
“The targets were hit accurately, but the damages caused to the LTTE due to the air raid were not known immediately,” Nanayakkara added.
The fresh air raid has come a day after the military claimed to have wrested control of two key villages in the north such as Kalvilan and Mulangavil from the LTTE after heavy fighting.
The military sources described as “a major victory” the capture of Mulangavil, located on the Mannar-Pooneryn road, as it was considered the second most important township in Kilinochchi district where the administrative bases of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) are located.
The rebels remained tight-lipped on the fresh military claims.
Meanwhile, the Media Centre for National Security (MCNS) said Thursday that a total of 14 LTTE guerrillas and a soldier were killed and over 20 wounded on both sides during separate clashes throughout Wednesday in the north.
Over 5,000 people have been killed due to fresh violence since December 2006.
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- LTTE planes bomb Colombo, shot down (Roundup) - Feb 21, 2009
- Fresh LTTE-held territories captured: military - Aug 13, 2008
- Jets pound LTTE camp in Mullaitivu: Sri Lanka - Jan 21, 2009
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