COLOMBO (AFP) — Sri Lankan war planes bombed a Roman Catholic church compound inside rebel-held territory, killing a man and wounding two children, the Tiger guerrillas said Tuesday.
"The Sri Lankan air force jet-interceptors have attacked a crowd of people who gathered at an old Catholic Church at Mullaitivu," the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said in a statement.
It gave no further details and there was no immediate comment from the authorities.
The defence ministry had earlier announced that the air force carried out an attack against a formation of rebel boats in the same area.
The ministry denied the Tigers claims that troops infiltrated a rebel-held area to set off a roadside mine that killed a Catholic priest on Sunday.
Meanwhile, ground troops captured more territory following a surprise assault against LTTE defences in the island's north killing 14 guerrillas on Monday, the defence ministry said.
Troops mounted the attack against a stretch of bunkers in the coastal Mannar district, the ministry said.
Security forces have killed at least 2,961 rebels since the start of January while 180 government soldiers have died in action during the same period, according to ministry figures.
Casualty numbers cannot be independently verified as Colombo bars journalists and aid workers from entering frontline areas.
Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved. More »
