By DPA
Colombo : An Air Force base in north-central Sri Lanka has come under air and ground attack by Tamil rebels, reports from the area said early Monday.
The defence ministry said in a statement that the airbase in Anuradhapura, 180 km north of the Sri Lankan capital, had come under rebel attack Monday morning.
Military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said the rebels dropped two bombs.
A journalist based in the area citing local residents said that rebels had sent cadres by ground as well as a light aircraft for the attack.
“Two loud explosions were heard soon after the aircraft was spotted, and thereafter a series of gun shots and explosions were heard,” he said.
An Air Force helicopter attempting to pursue the rebel aircraft crashed when it attempted to make an emergency landing in the area, Air Force spokesman Group Captain Ajantha Silva said. The fate of the pilot was not known immediately.
Two Mi 24 helicopters on the airbase had been damaged in the rebel attack, Silva said, citing initial reports.
At least three soldiers on guard had been wounded in the attack so far.
“The situation has now been brought under control, but search operations are in progress for the rebels who entered area,” Silva said.
The airbase is used for the ongoing military operations in the northern and eastern provinces.
Residents adjoining the air base were seen fleeing their homes soon after the attack, but most are gradually returning to their homes, a local resident said by telephone.
Rebels used light aircraft to carry two separate attacks earlier this year on an airbase adjoining Sri Lanka’s only international airport at Katunayaka, 35 km north of the capital, and thereafter on two oil installations. Three deaths were caused in the air strikes and the oil installations were damaged.