Sri Lanka's air force bombed Tamil Tiger territory in the far north on Tuesday in what the military called a preemptive strike on a training base, but the rebels said it was an unprovoked attack near their stronghold. The Tigers said at least 20 air force bombs fell near the village of Vaddakkachchi, which lies around 6 miles east of their northern nerve-centre of Kilinochchi.The military said the air force had targeted a Sea Tiger training camp another 15 miles further southeast on a lagoon near the village of Puthukkudiyiruppu. "We are being bombed," rebel military spokesman Rasiah Ilanthiraiyan told Reuters. "The bombs are falling near Kilinochchi. The buildings in town are vibrating. They have dropped about 20 bombs so far. There was no provocation."
There were no immediate details of casualties or damage. "According to air force information, there is a Sea Tiger training base at Puthukkudiyiruppu, so we've targeted that," said military spokesman Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe. "This was not due to provocation as such. This was a known target. Every day the navy is getting hammered (in sea clashes), so to preempt that the air force has taken the target."