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Colombo: The Sri Lanka air force bombed targets in the northern part of the country after guerrillas dropped four bombs close to fuel tanks in the suburbs of Colombo, triggering panic and pandemonium among residents.
Air Force spokesman, Group Captain Ajantha Silva said fighter jets shelled targets in the Vishvamadu and Iranamadu areas, including guerrilla air strip located in the northern Wanni region.
He said the aircraft involved in dropping bombs at the oil installations at Kolonnawa, 6 kilometres east of the capital and at Muthurajawela, 10 kilometres north, had landed in Iranamadu, prompting them to bomb the area.
Downplayed
In Colombo the Defence Ministry downplayed air raids by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) saying they had "missed the target", but residents in Colombo and the outskirts have expressed fears that more attacks could follow.
Finding a way
"It may take a couple of months for us to find a way to overcome the air attacks by the LTTE," Acting Media minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena said.
The night sky was set aglow with flares and anti-aircraft gun fire for more than 45 minutes as electricity was switched off as a precaution in Colombo city and outskirts.
The surprise attack by the LTTE and the retaliatory attacks by the military meant that cricket fans were deprived of witnessing the live coverage of the World Cup cricket finals in the Caribbean between Sri Lanka and Australia.
Those watching the coverage on giant screens in open grounds within the city were seen running towards the gates amidst rumours the port or airport had been bombed.
Unidentified men fatally shot a reporter for a Tamil-language newspaper in Sri Lanka's troubled northern Jaffna peninsula yesterday.
Selvaraja Rajivarman, 24, worked for the Jaffna-based Uthayan newspaper, which is considered neutral but has good access to information from Tamil Tiger rebels fighting a separatist war with the government.
The identity of the attackers and their motive were not immediately known. There have been a growing number of unsolved killings and abductions in Jaffna, regarded as the heartland of Sri Lanka's 3.1 million ethnic-minority Tamils.
The Defence Ministry's information centre said it was unaware of the killing.
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