3RD LEAD (Adds photos)

SLAF attacks LTTE Peace Secretariat, Political Division HQ

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 October 2008, 08:25 GMT]
Sri Lanka Air Force on Thursday attacked the Head Office of the Political Section of the Liberation Tigers of Tamileelalam and the LTTE Peace Secretariat, both located close to each other at the heart of the Ki'linochchi town. The attack, reported around 1:00 p.m., also caused damage to nearby houses and the roads. Two civilians were killed and five wounded in the air-strike, according to initial reports.



Two of the wounded civilians were identfied as Subbiah Sivalingam, 48 and Thangkvel Ragu, 30, both were travelers on the road while the attack took place. The other victims are yet to be identified. At least one of the civilians killed was at his house in the vicinity. Most of the bombs missed their targets and the SLAF bombers disappeared from the sky as they came under LTTE anti-aircraft fire. However, the buildings have sustained heavy damage as each of the buildings were hit by at least one bomb.

Both the offices have been used by the Norwegian peace facilitators and foreign diplomats in their dialogue with the leadership of the LTTE.