Sri Lankan air force continues airstrikes on Tamil rebels

Sri Lankan air force jets and artillery pounded Tamil Tiger rebel positions in the country’s north and east for a second day today, peace monitors said ahead of a mass funeral for 64 people killed a bus bombing blamed on the insurgents.

The Tigers said the airstrikes near a key rebel stronghold showed that the government was on a war footing, while the country’s president said he remained committed to the country’s 2002 cease-fire accord, despite yesterday’s bus attack, the worst violence since the truce.