Sri Lankan jets bomb LTTE bases in north, east

COLOMBO, AUG. 5. Sri Lankan Air Force jets bombed suspected LTTE bases in the island's north and east, a military spokesman said today.

LTTE positions ahead of the forward defence lines at Nagarkovil in the Jaffna peninsula in the north were targeted on Thursday and Friday and bases near Koonaitivu near Foul Point in Trincomalee district in the east came under aerial attack yesterday, Brig Sanath Karunaratne said. Casualties, if any, could not be immediately ascertained.

This is the first sustained wave of air raids after an LTTE suicide squad broke into the Air Force base at Katunayake and the adjoining Bandaranaike International Airport on July 24. The suicide squad destroyed 11 military and civilian aircraft. Fourteen rebels and seven military personnel were killed in the attack.

Eight Air Force personnel, meanwhile, were wounded in a claymore mine explosion yesterday near Poovarasankulam in Vavuniya, the Defence Ministry said in a situation report. They were on a truck carrying personnel to an air base when the mine was activated by the rebels.

Trawlers seized

The Sri Lankan Navy arrested 116 people this morning on board two trawlers that were allegedly taking them to Italy without travel documents. The trawlers were intercepted by the Navy about 25 nautical miles off Negombo, a neighbouring town.

Negombo is the centre of Sri Lanka's thriving human trafficking network and police routinely detect crammed shipments of refugees seeking greener pastures in Europe and Australia.

A boat load of 54 immigrants headed for Australia was seized by Negombo police last month.

- PTI, Reuters

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