April 3, 2007 1:59 p.m. EST
Ihuoma Ezeh - All Headline News
Colombo, Sri Lanka (AHN) - The Sri Lankan army stormed four Tamil Tiger bases, killing 23 rebels and injuring several others in the district of Batticaloa, according to military spokesman Brig Prasad Samarasinghe.
The army captured four bases in Batticaloa after it blamed the Tigers for a deadly bomb attack on a civilian bus in Ampara district, where at least 16 people were killed.
The Defense Ministry said in a statement that the Tigers in the north of Trincomalee fled after the army launched a 48-hour humanitarian operation, which ended successfully.
"The Army troops have started consolidating in the captured areas and have recovered a large number of warlike items and equipment left by the Tigers on the run," the Defense Ministry statement read.
On Monday, Tigers flew single-engine planes over the main military air base adjacent to Sri Lanka's only international airport and dropped bombs, killing three airmen in the group's first-ever air raid.
More than 60,000 people have been killed in Sri Lanka's Tamil separatist campaign since 1972. The two sides agreed to a truce in February 2002, but subsequent peace talks have broken down.
About 4,000 people have been killed in the uprising since 2005 and thousands others displaced.
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