Category: Defense

April 23, 2008 (AFP) – Ferocious fighting erupted in Sri Lanka on Wednesday as government troops made a fresh bid to break into rebel territory, leaving at least 67 dead on both sides, the defence ministry said.A ministry spokesman said 74 soldiers and about 100 rebels were also seriously wounded. The battle started when soldiers […]

April 20, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lankan war planes bombed a flotilla of fast boats operated by Tamil Tiger rebels off the island’s north-eastern waters, the defence ministry said Sunday.. Aircraft carried out the bombing raid in the seas off Mullaitivu on Saturday evening after spy planes spotted the rebel boat formation, the ministry said […]

April 19, 2008 (AFP) – At least 28 Tamil Tiger rebels and one soldier have been killed in artillery duels across Sri Lanka’s war-ravaged north, the defence ministry said on Saturday.Security forces killed 25 members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Mannar district while three others were killed in nearby Weli Oya […]

April 15, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lankan war planes bombed a communications centre inside rebel-held territory Tuesday after heavy ground battles left seven Tamil Tigers dead, the defence ministry said. The target was taken on Tuesday afternoon as ground troops battled the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) along the de facto border of […]

April 16, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lanka stepped up air attacks against Tamil Tiger rebels Wednesday, deploying jets and helicopter gunships as 12 guerrillas were killed in ground battles, defence officials said. Fighter jets bombed a suspected Tamil Tiger base in the northern town of Oddusudan overnight while Mi-24 helicopter gunships were deployed to attack […]

April 14, 2008 (AFP) – Security forces smashed through defences of Tamil separatists in northern Sri Lanka, killing at least five rebels as the country marked the traditional new year, the defence ministry said Monday.Government troops captured eight bunkers of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the Jaffna peninsula on Sunday, the day […]

April 13, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lanka marked its traditional new year Sunday with government forces and Tamil separatists locked in fierce combat resulting in losses on both sides, defence officials said.Security forces pounded Tamil Tiger positions in the rebel-held northern Wanni region and troops smashed bunkers belonging to rebels in the Jaffna peninsula, further […]

April 11, 2008 (AFP) – At least 26 Tamil Tiger rebels, two soldiers and a civilian have been killed in fighting across Sri Lanka’s northern districts, the defence ministry said Friday.Security forces smashed rebel bunkers and exchanged artillery with Tamil Tiger guerrillas in two days of fighting, while air force jets bombed a suspected Tiger […]

April 8, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s elite police commandos shot dead at least two soldiers and a civilian in a case of mistaken identity during a search in the restive east of the island, police said.The Special Task Force commandos opened fire at a group of men they believed were members of the Tamil […]

April 9, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s police arrested four people and seized a large quantity of explosives that could have been used in a suicide bombing, officials said Wednesday.Investigators found about 50 kilogrammes (110 pounds) of plastic explosives and grenades in a location in central Kandy district on Tuesday, a police official said. “There […]

April 6, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s highways minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle was killed in a bomb attack outside Colombo on Sunday, a government official here said.The minister was presiding over traditional New Year celebrations in the town of Weliveriya, north of Colombo, when the blast occurred.At least 10 others were killed by the powerful bomb.

April 06, 2008 (LBO) – A senior Sri Lanka minister has been killed in a Tamil Tiger suicide blast Sunday morning, north of Colombo, that has left at least 10 people dead, police and officials said. Highways minister Jeyeraj Fernandopulle was caught in the blast in the town of Weliveriya north of Colombo in a […]