Sri Lankan air force jets bombed a Tamil Tiger rebel base in the embattled north Friday, and ground battles across the region killed 34 rebels and one government soldier, the military said. The fighter jets pounded a training base for Sea Tigers, the naval wing of the separatist Tamil Tigers, deep in the rebel stronghold of Kilinochchi, said air force spokesman Wing Commander Janaka Nanayakkara. He did not provide details of casualties and damages, but said the pilots had confirmed they had hit the target. Infantry clashes continued Thursday along the front lines separating government-controlled territory and the rebels' de facto state in the north, military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said.
The worst fighting occurred in the Vavuniya district, where soldiers killed 14 rebels before capturing the rebel-held Palamoddai village, he said. Ten rebels and five soldiers were wounded. Scattered clashes in Kilinochchi killed 12 rebels and one soldier, while seven rebels died in Welioya and another was killed in Jaffna, he said.
The rebels Friday accused government forces of setting off a roadside bomb and killing two civilians inside guerrilla-held territory. A man and a child died when their motorcycle was caught up in the bomb attack at Nedunkerni in the vast Wanni region on Thursday evening, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said in a statement.
Also Friday, a grenade exploded inside a prison in the volatile east, injuring seven prisoners, police spokesman Ranjith Gunasekara said. "There has been an explosion inside Batticaloa prison. Seven people have been injured and admitted to Batticaloa hospital," police spokesman Ranjith Gunasekara said. "All of them are Tamils, and most of them are suspected of LTTE (rebel) activities." The elite Special Task Force police paramilitary unit found a second grenade, he said.