Jets bomb Tamil rebels' naval center

Sri Lankan air force jets bombed the Tamil Tiger rebels' naval headquarters Saturday while the group's sea wing leaders were holding a meeting there, the military said.

Pilots confirmed hitting the base near Puthukudiyiruppu village in rebel-held Mullaitivu district but did not provide any details about any damage, military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara said.

The base was bombed because officials had received information that the sea wing leaders were meeting there, Nanayakkara said.

Earlier, a defense official said the rebels' powerful naval chief, known as Soosai, was at the base during the bombing. The official spoke on condition of anonymity, citing government rules.

Nanayakkara said, however, that Soosai's presence was possible but had not been confirmed.

The Tigers did not immediately comment on the government's claims.

The air raid was part of the government's campaign to kill the guerrillas' top brass and crush their decades-old separatist war.

In November, the air force killed the Tigers' political wing head, S.P. Tamilselvan, believed by many to have been the rebels' No. 2 leader.

The military later claimed that top rebel leader Velupillai Prabhakaran had been injured in another air raid. The guerrillas, however, denied he was hurt.

Fighting has raged around the rebels' de facto state in the north since the government announced earlier this month that it was pulling out of a Norwegian-brokered cease-fire, which has long been ignored by both sides.

More than 500 people have been killed since the cease-fire officially ended, according to the military.

A series of battles across Sri Lanka's north killed 17 guerrillas and one soldier Friday, the military said.

Clashes along the front lines in Vavuniya district, just south of the rebels' de facto state, left 13 Tamil Tigers dead, a defense ministry official said.

Separate clashes in nearby Mannar district killed four insurgents and one soldier, he said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak the media.

It was not possible to independently verify the military's claims because the fighting took place deep in the northern jungles, where access is restricted. Both sides often release inflated casualty figures for their opponents while lowering their own.

The Tigers have been fighting since 1983 for an independent state in the north and east for the country's ethnic Tamil minority after decades of being marginalized by Sinhalese-dominated governments. The fighting has killed more than 70,000 people.