COLOMBO, Oct 28: Tamil Tiger rebels carried two air strikes near a northern military base and oil tanks in the Sri Lankan capital on Tuesday.

The attacks prompted anti-aircraft fire across Colombo’s shore, which had been darkened after the power was switched off as a precaution shortly after the first strike at Mannar, located near the northern war zone about 250kms to the north.

“One LTTE aircraft was airborne and dropped bombs on Mannar area military headquarters. We are checking on reports of damages and casualties,” a military official said. Another official confirmed the strike.

Shortly afterwards, the sound of heavy guns echoed through Colombo, as people stood in the streets watching.

“The aircraft dropped bombs in Colombo near the oil storage tanks,” a military source said.

If confirmed, these would be the eighth and ninth strikes by the Tigers’ rudimentary air wing.—Reuters

, which debuted in March last year with a bombing run on the military air base inside Colombo’s international airport.

The last raid came last month, when the military said it had shot down one of the planes. The Tigers denied that, and no evidence was ever found.

The military says the Tigers’ air wing has three two-seater Czech-made Zlin-143 aircraft fitted with homemade bombing equipment.—Reuters