By IANS,
Colombo : The Tamil Tiger rebels carried out air raids Tuesday night targeting a power plant in the capital and military detachments in Mannar district in the northwest, military sources here said.
After receiving reports of suspected Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) aircraft, the defence authorities switched off electricity in and around Colombo for nearly one hour from 11.00 p.m. The security forces also activated the anti-aircraft system and fired in the air from various points for nearly half an hour, in addition to flashing search lights in the skies.
According to military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara, light aircraft of the rebels first entered the air space of Mannar district in the country’s northwest from the rebel-held Wanni region around 10.30 p.m. Tuesday and “droped two bombs near military detachments at Thalladi in Mannar, wounding one soldier”.
“Around 11.30 pm another LTTE light-wing aircraft dropped a bomb targeting the Kelanitissa power plant station, north of Colombo. There was a small fire after the explosion causing minor damage to one of the generators at the power plant,” Nanayakkara told IANS shortly after midnight Tuesday.
“The fire brigade has doused the fire and the situation is totally under control,” he said, adding that the LTTE’s attempt to enter the airspace of Colombo was thwarted with the timely activation of anti-aircraft system by the air force.
It was not immediately known whether the LTTE aircraft suffered any damage during the attacks.
There was no immediate word from the Tamil Tigers in this regard.
The LTTE is believed to possess an unknown number of Czech-built Zlin – Z-143 light air craft.
The fresh air raids by LTTE has come at a time when fierce fighting is raging in the Wanni region in the north between the advancing government troops and the rebels.