03/26/2007
A Tamil Tiger light aircraft bombed a Sri Lankan air force base next to Colombo international airport before dawn on Monday, killing three airmen and wounding 16 in the first such air strike by the rebel group.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said more such attacks by its air wing would follow, threatening to deepen renewed conflict in the island state off the toe of India.
Airline and government officials said the civilian airport, 23 miles (37 km) north of the capital, was not damaged but was closed for several hours following the attack. The military said the bombs hit a barracks, and that none of its aircraft was damaged.
Nordic truce monitors said the Air Force responded with air strikes on Tiger terrain in the island's northwestern district of Mannar.
The government condemned what it called a "cowardly" attack, which followed weeks of air force raids on rebel targets in the north and east, and said security forces were on high alert.
Heavily armed troops manning checkpoints between Colombo and the airport carried out stringent checks on vehicles.
The Tigers, who say they are fighting for an independent state for minority Tamils in the north and east, last attacked the airport in 2001, the year before a ceasefire deal which has since collapsed. In that attack half of Sri Lankan Airlines' fleet of planes was destroyed.
The rebels have since smuggled an estimated four light aircraft into the country in pieces and reassembled them.
Pro-rebel Web site www.tamilnet.com carried pictures of shadowy rebel leader Velupillai Prabhakaran, who lives in hiding in the rebel-held north, standing with Tiger pilots. It also showed a single-propeller two-seater plane painted in army camouflage colours with four bombs attached to its underside.
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