By DPA
Colombo : At least seven sailors were reported missing after a sea battle with Tamil rebels off the north-western coast of Sri Lanka, a Navy spokesman said Tuesday.
A naval craft had been initially sent out Monday night to drive back Indian fishermen who had reportedly entered Sri Lankan waters off Thalaimannar, more than 320 km north of Colombo, he said.
The crew of one of the boats had called for assistance because its engine was disabled and, as the Navy approached the craft, two other boats fired at the military vessel, sparking the clash, the spokesman said.
“A search operation is in progress for the missing sailors,” he added.
Meanwhile, Air Force fighter jets bombed what the military called a main rebel strategic command and control centre Tuesday in Kaivelikulam, 360 km north-east of the capital.
“Fighter pilots have confirmed that the target was accurately hit,” a defence ministry statement said.
On Monday, Tamil rebels were blamed for setting off a roadside claymore mine, killing 14 civilians in the north-east, and in a similar attack targeted an Army tractor, killing a soldier in the south-east.
Rebels also were blamed for a parcel bomb inside a bus that killed 20 civilians in central Sri Lanka Saturday, and a suicide bomber blew herself up inside Colombo’s main railway station, killing 15 people.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa has vowed to continue efforts to recapture areas in the north that are held by the separatist rebels belonging to Sri Lanka’s Tamil minority.