Two Tamil rebels killed in premature explosion

Two Tamil Tiger rebels have died after the explosive-laden jackets they were wearing exploded prematurely.

The rebels planned to attack a base near Mannar, 135 miles north of Colombo, before dawn.

It was not immediately known what set off the explosions heard at 3:00 am on Sunday.

Police and the navy mounted a search and found the dismembered bodies of the rebels about two 2 miles from their naval base target.

The naval base at Mannar is used to ferry soldiers and to transport supplies for the army, which is fighting the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in the north.

Suicide cadres, known as "Black Tigers," are the most dangerous unit of the rebels, who say Sri Lanka's 3.2 million Tamils need a homeland to prosper away from the domination of the Sinhalese, who make up 14 million of the country's 18.6 million people. More than 64,000 people have died in the 18-year civil war.

The most recent rebel attack was on Sri Lanka's only international airport and an air force base on Tuesday that left 20 people dead, including 13 rebels. That attack wiped out half of the Sri Lankan Airlines' fleet and destroyed or damaged six air force aircraft.