• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

DATE=2/3/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=LANKA/WOUNDED/ L-O
NUMBER=2-258781
BYLINE=VANDANA CHOPRA
DATELINE=COLOMBO
INTERNET=YES
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO:  More than 70 Tamil rebels have been killed in 
fresh fighting in Sri Lanka's north.  And Vandana 
Chopra reports from Colombo, 18-people have been 
wounded in two separate explosions as Sri Lanka 
prepares for 52nd anniversary celebrations, Friday.
TEXT:  The defense ministry says the Tamil rebels were 
killed in a mortar barrage on a guerrilla bunker line 
in the northern Jaffna peninsula.
A ministry statement says its troops launched the 
assault on rebel bunkers as the two sides exchanged 
mortar and artillery fire at the strategic Elephant 
Pass base camp.
Military officials say monitored rebel radio 
transmissions indicate the guerrillas were asking for 
assistance to evacuate casualties.
Capture of the Elephant Pass camp will give the tiger 
rebels easy access to Jaffna, a former rebel 
stronghold.
Meanwhile 18-people were wounded, two of them 
seriously, when bombs exploded in two buses outside 
Colombo.  Police officials say the blasts occurred 
after the passengers disembarked and the bus was going 
to a fuel station.
No one has claimed responsibility for the blast, but 
police officials blame the rebels who have been 
fighting for a separate Tamil homeland since 1983.
The explosions occurred as Colombo was placed under 
tight security in preparation for Sri Lanka's 52nd 
independence anniversary celebrations, Friday. 
In the past month, Colombo has been the target of 
three bomb blasts, killing more than 50 people and 
wounding almost 200 - including President Chandrika 
Kumaratunga.   (SIGNED)
NEB/VC/ENE/RAE
03-Feb-2000 11:32 AM EDT (03-Feb-2000 1632 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
.