A security alert was in place across Sri Lanka yesterday after Tamil Tiger rebels vowed to retaliate for air attacks following a day of fierce battles on land and sea that left more than 50 people dead.
A police water pump was blown up in a Claymore mine attack in the north-central district of Anuradhapura yesterday, killing three constables, the military said.
A military spokesman said they believed the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) carried out the bombing.
PHOTO: AP
Also yesterday the Tigers and a breakaway faction of rebels clashed in the island's east, leaving at least six guerrillas dead, military officials said, citing intercepts of rebel radio communications.
Already tight security was further strengthened in the face of escalating violence in northern and eastern regions on Saturday that saw furious fighting between troops and the rebels.
"We have made sure that security is tight," inspector general of police, Chandra Fernando said yesterday. "We are seeking public cooperation to track down any suspicious activity."
Fernando said the LTTE had deployed a new type of sea mine along the northwest coast against a naval patrol, but five divers laying the mines were arrested. One died after committing suicide by swallowing a cyanide capsule.
The arrests came as the LTTE warned that the country would be pushed back to a "fatal war" if the military resumes air strikes.
Fighter jets bombed suspected Tiger positions on Thursday and Friday as a deterrent against more attacks following Thursday's blast on an overcrowded bus in which 64 people were killed.
On Saturday at least 52 people were killed as fierce sea and land battles erupted.
The leader of the LTTE's political wing, S.P. Thamilselvan, denied Tiger involvement with Thursday's bus attack.
"We categorically deny the accusation that the Tigers attacked the civilian passenger bus," he said in remarks published on the pro-rebel Tamilnet.com Web site.
The military has brushed aside rebel denials and carried out air attacks as well as artillery strikes against Tiger positions.
There have been no reports of casualties and Tamilnet reported on Friday that two out of six bombs dropped by the planes did not explode.
Thamilselvan said the attacks "would only lead Sri Lanka to a fatal war."
The LTTE fought a major sea battle against navy patrol craft along the northwest of the island on Saturday, killing at least 12 sailors and destroying three boats, officials said.
The defense ministry said the navy and the air force beat back the Tiger offensive by sinking eight Tiger craft and killing 30, wounded.
ROCKY RELATIONS: The figures on residents come as Chinese tourist numbers drop following Beijing’s warnings to avoid traveling to Japan The number of Chinese residents in Japan has continued to rise, even as ties between the two countries have become increasingly fractious, data released on Friday showed. As of the end of December last year, the number of Chinese residents had increased by 6.5 percent from the previous year to 930,428. Chinese people accounted for 22.6 percent of all foreign residents in Japan, making them by far the largest group, Japanese Ministry of Justice data showed. Beijing has criticized Tokyo in increasingly strident terms since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi last year suggested that a military conflict around Taiwan could
A pro-Iran hacking group claimed to breach FBI Director Kash Patel’s personal e-mail inbox and posted some of the contents online. The e-mails provided by the hacking group include travel details, correspondence with leasing agents in Washington and global entry, and loyalty account numbers. The e-mail address the hackers claim to have compromised has been previously tied to Patel’s personal details, and the leaked e-mails contain photos of Patel and others, in addition to correspondence with family members and colleagues. “The FBI is aware of malicious actors targeting Director Patel’s personal email information,” the agency said in a statement on
RIVALRY: ‘We know that these are merely symbolic investigations initiated by China, which is in fact the world’s most profligate disrupter of supply chains,’ a US official said China has started a pair of investigations into US trade practices, retaliating against similar probes by US President Donald Trump’s administration as the superpowers stake out positions before an expected presidential summit in May. The move, announced by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce on Friday, is a direct mirror of steps Trump took to revive his tariff agenda after the US Supreme Court last month struck down some of his duties. “China expresses its strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to these actions,” a ministry spokesperson said in a statement, referring to the so-called Section 301 investigations initiated on March 11.
When a hiker fell from a 55m waterfall in wild New Zealand bush, rescuers were forced to evacuate the badly hurt woman without her dog, which could not be found. After strangers raised thousands of dollars for a search, border collie Molly was flown to safety by a helicopter pilot who was determined to reunite the pet and the owner. A week earlier, an emergency rescue helicopter found the woman with bruises and lacerations after a fall at a rocky spot at the waterfall on the South Island’s West Coast. She was airlifted on March 24, but they were forced to
RSS