LTTE aircraft attacks Colombo, Mannar

The aircraft first bombed the Thallaadi military base in Mannar at around 11 pm and carried out the attack on the power plant on the outskirts of Colombo 15 minutes later.

8220;LTTE aircraft attacked a military camp in Thallaadi and then dropped two bombs over the capital,8221; a defence official said adding, the blasts have caused minor damage to the power plant in Grand Pass area.

The authorities in Colombo apparently detected a suspicious aircraft flying over the capital shortly before the strikes and switched off power in and around the city. The electricity was restored after one hour.

Sri Lankan Navy fired anti-aircraft guns into the sky to prevent any attack on the harbour, an official said.

The LTTE had carried out an air and ground attack on a military establishment in the northern town of Vavuniya in September, killing 11 soldiers. Ten Tiger suicide commandos also died in the attack.

The Tamil Tigers are believed to operate five Czech-built Zlin-143 aircraft, smuggled onto the island in parts and reassembled.

According to military sources, the rebels operate more than one airstrip in areas under their control.

The military had earlier claimed to have shot down one of the aircraft after the Vavuniya attack but the rebels denied the report.