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Colombo: Sri Lankan air force jets bombed an air strip used by Tamil Tiger rebels, while 16 insurgents were killed in ground clashes in the north, the military said on Sunday.
The attacks came hours after a suicide bomber Friday rammed his motorcycle into a bus carrying riot police in the heart of the capital, killing ten people.
A military statement said pilots confirmed bombing the runway in rebel-held Iranaimadu village. It gave no details of casualties or damage. The air force has claimed to have bombed the same strip several times in the past.
Troops killed 16 insurgents during clashes on Friday in the Vavuniya district, the statement said.
Also, a hand grenade exploded in northern Vavuniya town yesterday, wounding 17 civilians, the military said.
It was not possible to independently verify the military's claims because reporters are not allowed in the war zone. The two sides are known to exaggerate their enemy's casualties while underreporting their own.
Rebel spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan could not be contacted for comment.
The military blamed the Tamil Tigers for Friday's blast in Colombo that killed ten people and wounded 85.
Separatist terror
President Mahinda Rajapakse said the rebel group has "demonstrated to the world its total commitment to violence and terror to achieve its separatist goals in Sri Lanka, and its absolute contempt for democracy and human rights."
The rebels, blamed for more than 240 suicide attacks, have been listed as a terror organisation by the United States and European Union.
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