2ND LEAD

Tiger artillery targets Palaali airbase, fighting intensifies in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Monday, 28 January 2008, 08:01 GMT]
Liberation Tigers' artillery fire Monday morning targeted Palaali airbase while a helicopter carrying top military officials from Colombo was about to land. Tension prevailed in Palaali military complex as around 20 shells hit the base, informed sources said. All military and civilian transports were canceled. Meanwhile, Jaffna experienced a power-cut and the mobile phone links remained cut-off as Sri Lanka Army stepped up heavy artillery fire on LTTE Forward Defence Line. Sri Lanka Air Force bombers were flown from South in the skies over Jaffna to attack Tiger territory. At least 6 of the LTTE fired shells had hit the military runway in Palaali.

SLA casualties were being transported to Palaali from Northern Front when the headquarters of the Sri Lankan armed forces in Jaffna came under artillery fire by the Tigers around 8:00 a.m.

Tension prevailed on the main roads in Jaffna as SLA intensified restrictions and security measures checking passengers and vehicles.

The SLA turned back the buses carrying passengers to Palaali airport at Kadduvan inside the High Security Zone of the Palaali military complex.

No official information about the causalities and injured is available both from the SLA and the LTTE.