LTTE stages 2nd air attack on Lankan military

Tamil Tiger rebels carried out an air attack on Sri Lanka's main military complex in the Jaffna peninsula early Tuesday morning, almost a month after staging their first aerial raid on government forces, a guerrilla spokesman said.

Two light aircraft of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam bombed the Palaly air base in Jaffna and returned to their secret location in the Wanni region, further south, Tiger spokesman Rasiah Ilanthiriyan said.

"We have carried our second air attack at 0120 local time on the Palaly air field and their military stores," Ilanthiriyan said by telephone from an undisclosed location in the northern part of the Island.

The military said it was checking on the Tiger report.

However, unconfirmed military sources said six soldiers were killed and another six wounded at a location just outside Palaly following the guerrilla air strike.

The military was also checking if the Tigers had also used artillery fire in the attack.

The Tamil rebels staged their first air attack against the military on March 26 by bombing the Katunayake air base located just next to the Bandaranaike International airport, killing three airmen and 17 others.

Today's aerial attack comes just hours after suspected Tiger rebels set off a roadside bomb in Paraiyanalankulam in the Island's north, killing three and wounding 35 others.