Two girls die as Tamil Tiger camp targeted in jet attack

Published on 17/10/2006 12:21

SRI Lankan fighter jets pounded a suspected Tamil Tiger camp today, reportedly killing two young girls.

The government denied it was in retaliation for the suicide bombing at a naval compound which killed at least 95 sailors.

It claimed it was committed to peace talks, even after the worst atrocity since the signing of a 2002 ceasefire.

An explosives-laden truck was driven into a convoy of buses near the town of Dambulla, about 90 miles from the capital Colombo yesterday.

The pro-rebel TamilNet website said the military launched air strikes in north-eastern Sri Lanka last night.

It claimed they hit civilian targets and left two girls, aged one and 12 dead, and 15 others wounded.

Military spokesman Brig Prasad Samarasinghe said the air force bombed rebel territory after the rebels had launched artillery fire into a military camp.

"This was not in response to the suicide bomb, we responded to the artillery attack," Samarasinghe said today.

The US condemned yesterday's suicide bombing and said it bore the hallmarks of separatist Tamil Tigers, formally known as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.