Colombo, Oct 15 (IANS) Sri Lankan Air Force jets Wednesday twice carried out air raids on a suspected 'LTTE bunker construction site' in the north, where heavy fighting is raging between the advancing government troops and the Tamil Tiger rebels, a defence official here said.
Air Force spokesman Wing Commander Janaka Nanayakkara said that the first air raid was carried out at 9.25 a.m. Wednesday targeting 'an LTTE bunker construction site located just two km south-east of Puthukkudiyiruppu' in the north-eastern Mullaitivu district.
'A large number of LTTE cadres and many heavy earth moving heavy vehicles were occupied in the targeted location when the first air strike was carried out,' Nanayakkara told IANS.
Claiming that the rebels have suffered heavy damages during the first raid, he said the second air raid was on the same target barely two hours later.
'The second air raid was made targeting the LTTE heavy vehicles summoned to the location to drag away the earth moving vehicles that were damaged in the previous air strike,' Nanayakkara said, denying the knowledge of exact details of damage caused to the rebels.
There was no immediate reaction from the rebels in this regard.
Fresh air raids have come amid fierce fighting in the north. The military claims that the advancing troops were just two km away from Kilinochchi town, the administrative capital of the rebels, located about 350 km north of here.
Meanwhile, the defence ministry in a report said that security forces Tuesday found a bag with C-4 explosive and detonators inside the office of an international voluntary organisation serving in the northern Vavuniya district.
'The bag containing 1.5 kg of C-4 high explosives, three-metre length of detonator code (wire) and four electric detonators was found inside the office of the International Organization for Migrant (IOM) which is operating under UN around 6.30 p.m. (Tuesday),' the defence ministry report said Wednesday.
Quoting police investigation, it said that 'the recipient of the bag, a staff member of IOM office in Vavuniya, has already been taken into custody and he confessed that he received the bag from one of the staff member in Mannar office'.
The LTTE has been fighting the Sri Lankan government to carve out a separate state for Tamils in the northern and eastern part of the island for the past three decades.
Thousands have died in the fighting between the LTTE and the military since late 2005.
|
|
Comments:
