COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Tamil Tiger rebels in two light planes dropped bombs on Sri Lanka's main air force base on the outskirts of the capital early Monday, killing two officers, officials said.
The rebels claimed responsibility for the raid, their first using aircraft to bomb targets.
Witnesses reported gunfire and flashes at the base about 20 miles from Colombo. The adjacent international airport was temporarily closed for traffic, but later resumed limited operations, an airport duty officer said. The airport was not hit.
"Two attack aircraft belonging to Liberation Tigers carried out bombing raids at the Sri Lanka air force air base ... and returned safely," rebel spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan told The Associated Press by the telephone from the rebel stronghold of Kilinochchi.
Group Capt. Ajantha Silva, an air force spokesman said a detailed search operation is on.
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"At daybreak, we will be able to tell you more," he said.
The rebels, also known as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, have fought since 1983 to create an independent homeland for the country's 3.1 million minority Tamils after decades of discrimination by the majority Sinhalese.
An estimated 65,000 people were killed in fighting before a cease-fire signed in 2002 slowed the violence. But hostilities spiked again in late 2005, with more than 4,000 fighters and civilians killed in the last 15 months, according to European cease-fire monitors.
While both sides have not officially withdrawn from the cease-fire, soaring violence has rendered the agreement valid only on paper.
The rebels said Monday's attack was justified because Sri Lankan planes bombed targets in the rebel-held areas.
"Military offensives by Sri Lanka security forces in the northeast have been dominated by air-attacks by SLAF (Sri Lankan air force)," which has caused civilian casualties and damages to civilian property, Ilanthirayan said.
The Tamil Tiger rebels staged a devastating attack on the same air base and the adjoining airport in July 2001 and destroyed six civilian jets and more than a dozen military planes. About 18 Tiger suicide cadres were involved in the ground attack that also left half a dozen security personnel dead.
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