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Sri Lanka attacks rebel positions
Sri Lanka's air force carried out a series of attacks against Tamil Tiger rebel targets, including a heavy gun position and a guerrilla training camp, while a separate infantry clash killed four guerrillas, the military said Saturday. It said jets bombed the gun position in the rebel headquarters of Kilinochchi on Friday and the training camp in Visvamadu village on Saturday. Also Saturday, helicopters bombed a group of rebels who were trying to stop soldiers from reaching Paranthan, a strategic crossroads north of Kilinochchi, it said in a statement. Pilots claimed success in all the attacks, the military said, without giving casualty details. Meanwhile, military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara said soldiers captured Otiyamalai village in the northeastern Mullaitivu district Saturday in a move that could make several other rebel bases unstable and prove crucial for the military's march deeper into rebel territory. Soldiers also killed four guerrillas and beat back a counterattack in Mullaitivu district, he said. Rebel officials could not be reached for comment. It is difficult to verify battlefield reports because most reporters are barred from the war zone. The government has vowed to crush the rebels to end their decades-old separatist war. It says its forces are closing in on Kilinochchi, the rebels' de facto capital, while other troops are advancing toward the rebel stronghold of Mullaitivu on the northeastern coast. The rebels have been forced to give up large swathes of territory in heavy battles over the past several months. Posted by: Fred 2008-11-30 |
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