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Air raids on LTTE bases

B. Muralidhar Reddy

U.S. Assistant Secretary Richard Boucher arriving to assess situation

— PHOTO: AFP

A damaged tower of the "Voice of Tigers" radio station in northern Sri Lanka on Tuesday.

COLOMBO: The Sri Lanka Air Force on Tuesday conducted air raids on two Tamil Tiger sea bases in Mullaittivu and a militant camp in Mankulam in the north.

"The air force sources said the strikes had been precise. It is believed that the air strikes had inflicted heavy damage to terrorists", the military said in a statement. A spokesman of the Government said the aerial raids were not in retaliation to the killing of 98 sailors near Habarana on Monday.

The incident, one of the worst suicide attacks faced by the military, has raised doubts about the possibility of talks between the Government and the Tamil Tigers scheduled for October 28 and 29 in Switzerland.

United States Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher is arriving here on a two-day visit on Thursday for an assessment of the situation.

Indications are that in the course of his stay, he will meet Sri Lankan officials and hold parleys with special envoys of Japan and Norway on ways to promote cessation of hostilities and return to the negotiation table.

In a statement issued on the latest killings, the U.S. said, "Though there have been no claims of responsibility, this attack is in keeping with the tactics of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, a group long designated as foreign terrorist organisation by the Department of State.

Separately, the military claimed that the LTTE exploded a claymore mine targeting a naval convoy at Sambalthivu in Trincomalee on Tuesday.

"However, the LTTE terrorists missed their target as the claymore was activated just after the convoy passed it", it said.

The LTTE, in a separate statement, claimed that Sri Lankan Kfir bombers destroyed a transmission tower of the Voice of Tigers (VOT) radio located in Kokkavil in the Mullaithivu district. "VOT is the only radio broadcasting service that is outside the GoSL control area and thus able to broadcast without the usual threats posed by the GoSL operated forces", it said.

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