Rebel raid wounds sailors in Sri Lanka

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) -- Separatist Tamil rebels wounded at least 10 sailors in a brazen airstrike on a key harbor controlled by the navy in eastern Sri Lanka, while clashes in the north killed 27 guerrillas and two soldiers, the military said Wednesday.

Two bombs dropped by a single Tamil Tiger rebel light aircraft fell on into the naval base dockyard in the eastern port city of Trincomalee on Tuesday night, military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara said.

Ten soldiers were wounded by shrapnel from the blast, Nanayakkara said. The military initially denied it had suffered any casualties in the attack.

He said the base was not damaged in the attack.

Residents of Trincomalee told The Associated Press the raid triggered a wave of anti-aircraft fire, and tracers lit the night sky, sending residents scrambling for safety. The residents asked not to be named, fearing repercussions from the government. Nanayakkara said he did not know if the rebel bomber was hit.

Rebel spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

The airstrike was the first by the Tamil Tiger rebels' small fleet of light aircraft since October 2007, when two planes bombed an air base as it was overrun by rebel fighters.

The Tamil Tigers stunned the military in March 2007 when they launched their first ever air assault, bombing an air base near the capital Colombo. The rebels then carried out several more attacks, including a strike on a fuel refinery and gasoline storage site.

The rebel air wing, though largely incapable of causing serious damage, is a source of pride for the Tamil Tigers and one of deep frustration for the military. It has been unable to stop the attacks by the lightweight, hard-to-track aircraft.

Government forces wrested Trincomalee from rebel control last year. In May, a suspected rebel suicide diver attacked and sank an empty navy cargo ship in the harbor.

Tuesday's attack took place after weeks of military advances deep into rebel-held territory in the jungles of the north. Government officials have pledged to crush the rebels' by the end of the year.

Nanayakkara said ground battles Tuesday in the northern regions of Jaffna, Vavuniya, Mullaitivu, Kilinochchi and Welioya killed 27 rebels and two soldiers.

The rebels have been fighting for an independent state in the north and east since 1983, following decades of marginalization of ethnic Tamils by governments dominated by the Sinhalese majority.

More than 70,000 people have been killed in the conflict.

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