Sri Lankan air force bombs Tamil Tiger base

Sri Lanka’s air force said it bombed a Tamil Tiger rebel naval base in the country’s north-west today, but a guerrilla spokesman claimed the air raid killed 15 civilians in a fishing village.

Rebel spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan said the bombs fell on the village of Padahuthurai near Iluppaikkdavai in north-west Sri Lanka’s Mannar district, killing at least 15 civilians and wounding 35 others. Ilanthirayan spoke from the rebel headquarters of Kilinochchi.