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July 31, 2008
Sri Lankan Jets Attack Rebel Suicide Bomber Base, Ministry Says |
July 31 (Bloomberg) -- Sri Lankan fighter jets raided a training base of the Black Tigers, the rebel suicide bomber unit, after receiving intelligence that attacks were being prepared there, the Defense Ministry said.
The camp, 3 kilometers (1.9 miles) southeast of the rebels' headquarters in Kilinochchi, was destroyed in yesterday's attack, the ministry said in a statement on its Web site, where it posted a video clip of the bombing. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam group didn't immediately comment on the raid on its Web site.
The base was run by the head of the LTTE intelligence unit, Pottu Amman, the ministry said, citing Sri Lankan intelligence officials. Amman vowed at the November funeral of LTTE political chief S.P. Thamilchelvan, who was killed in an air raid, to conduct a ``relentless effort'' for a separate Tamil homeland.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa's government pledged to defeat the LTTE in the northern Wanni region this year after destroying their bases in the east a year ago.
The government blamed the LTTE for bombings in May and June near the capital, Colombo, that killed more than 30 people. The Tamil Tigers were the first group to use female suicide bombers and develop explosive belts and vests, the U.S. Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism said in a 2006 report.
The LTTE, designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. European Union and India, is fighting for a separate homeland in the east and north of the island nation. The 25-year struggle has killed more than 70,000 people.
The group declared a 10-day cease-fire to coincide with a summit meeting of South Asian leaders in Colombo later this week. Rajapaksa said July 13 his government is ready for talks with the LTTE if the rebels disarm.
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| Source: bloomberg.com |
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