Category: Defense

May 26, 2008 (AFP) – At least seven people were killed and scores more wounded Monday in the bombing of a packed commuter train in the suburbs of the Sri Lankan capital by suspected Tamil rebels, officials said.The island’s military spokesman, Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara, said seven people, including a pregnant woman, were killed and another […]

May 24, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lanka warplanes bombed a suspected rebel boat yard and provided cover for ground troops pushing into rebel territory, the defence ministry said Saturday. On Saturday, the proxy Tamil National Alliance (TNA) also accused the government of carrying out attacks against civilians. “We vehemently condemn the cowardly and brutal attack […]

May 20, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tigers said Tuesday that a high-ranking rebel leader died of a sudden heart attack in the guerrilla-held northern regions.Brigadier Balraj, a special commander of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), led the rebels’ conventional fighting unit that has carried out repeated attacks on Sri Lankan troops. […]

May 19, 2008 (AFP) – At least 50 people have died in fresh fighting between government troops and Tamil Tiger rebels in northern Sri Lanka, the island’s defence ministry said Monday.The clashes, coinciding with a Buddhist holiday and nationwide religious services, left 40 guerillas dead and 13 soldiers killed or missing, the ministry said. The […]

May 18, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lanka mounted air and ground attacks against the Tamil Tigers across the island’s embattled northern district at the weekend, killing at least 17 rebels, the defence ministry said Sunday. Russian-built Mi-24 helicopter gunships backed troops advancing towards rebel-held areas in the Mannar area on Sunday, air force spokesman Wing […]

May 17, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lankan ground troops killed at least 16 Tamil Tiger rebels while airforce fighter jets bombed guerrilla targets in the island’s north, the defence ministry said on Saturday.The air sorties were carried out over the rebel-held Iranamadu area late on Friday, the ministry said in a statement. The offensive came […]

May 16, 2008 (LBO) – A bomb blast shook the Sri Lankan capital Colombo just before noon Friday, defence officials said. The blast occured near the Sambhodi temple next to the Hotel Hilton, near which there is an army checkpoint. No details of casualties or damage were immediately available.

May 16, 2008 (LBO ) A Sri Lanka police bus was targeted by a suspected Tamil Tiger suicide bomber in the capital Colombo Friday, killing 8 persons and injuring 90, defence officials said.The blast went off at a busy roundabout near Colombo’s Hilton hotel. Military spokesman Udaya Nanayakkara said a suspected Tamil Tiger suicide bomber […]

May 16, 2008 (AFP) – At least nine people were killed and 95 others wounded Friday in a Tamil Tiger suicide bombing near the official residence of Sri Lanka’s president in the capital Colombo, officials said. Military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said seven police officers and two other people — plus the attacker — died […]

May 15, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lankan troops smashed rebel bunkers and traded fire with guerrillas across the island’s north, leaving at least 25 people dead in total, the defence ministry said Thursday. The ministry said security forces carried out “limited operations” in the regions of Mannar, Weli Oya, Vavuniya and Janakapura on Wednesday, as […]

May 14, 2008 (AFP) – At least 27 Tamil Tiger rebels died during battles with government troops, while separately a top advisor to a senior cabinet minister was shot dead in Sri Lanka’s restive north, the defence ministry said Tuesday.The sporadic clashes took place around the embattled Vavuniya and Mannar district on Monday, the ministry […]

May 14, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lanka pressed ahead with air and ground attacks Wednesday against Tamil Tiger rebels in the north, the defence ministry said, as the prime minster ruled out any ceasefire. Fighter planes gave air support to ground troops advancing toward rebel-held areas in Mannar district and bombed a suspected guerrilla training […]