Sri Lankan jets bomb rebel bunkers

Sri Lankan fighter jets bombed Tamil Tiger bunkers in the embattled north, a day after scattered ground battles killed 17 rebels, the military said.

The military bombers hit rebel positions in Thunukkai village of rebel-held Mullaitivu district, a military statement said. It did not give details of casualties or damage.

Friday's infantry fighting broke out in the Mannar, Vavuniya and Welioya regions surrounding the rebels' northern stronghold, it said.

Seventeen guerrillas were killed. No soldiers died, but some were wounded, the military said.

Rebel spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan could not immediately be reached for comment, and it was not possible to verify the military's claims because reporters are barred from the war zone.

Each is side known to exaggerate casualties inflicted on the other and under-report their own.

The Tamil Tigers have been fighting since 1983 to create an independent state for ethnic minority Tamils, who have been marginalised by successive governments controlled by ethnic Sinhalese.

More than 70,000 people have been killed in the conflict.

The government has stepped up operations around the rebels' de facto state in the north in an effort to deliver on its promise to crush the group by the end of this year.

Source: PA