Air attack, 8 LTTE killed

Sri Lanka's military attacked Tamil Tiger rebel positions along the civil war's northern front lines by land and air Saturday, killing at least four guerrillas, the military said. Four other rebels were killed in clashes a day earlier, it said.

Air force helicopter gunships attacked a rebel gathering point in northern Mannar district to assist army troops fighting the rebels in the area, said air force spokesman Wing Commander Janaka Nanayakkara.

Nanayakkara did not give details about damage or casualties, but said the pilots hit their target.

Heavy fighting has been reported in Mannar in recent weeks.

In other fighting Saturday, army troops fired rocket-propelled grenades at a rebel bunker in northern Vavuniya district, killing four rebels, the military said in a statement.

Four other guerrillas were killed Friday in separate clashes in Welioya and Vavuniya districts, the military said. Nine government soldiers were wounded in the battles, it said.

Rebel spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan could not immediately be reached for comment.

It was not possible to independently verify the military's claims because journalists are banned from the northern jungles where much of the fighting takes place. Each side commonly exaggerates its enemy's casualties while playing down its own.

Fighting has escalated along the war's northern front lines since the government withdrew from a long-ignored cease-fire in January.

The government has pledged to capture the rebels' de facto state in the north and crush them by the end of the year.

The Tamil Tigers have fought since 1983 to create an independent homeland for minority Tamils, who have been marginalized by successive governments controlled by majority Sinhalese. More than 70,000 people have been killed.

Source: iht