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| Air force bombs Tamil Tiger radio | Air force bombs Tamil Tiger radio |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Sri Lankan air force jets have bombed the Tamil Tigers' radio station in the north of the island, the rebels say. | Sri Lankan air force jets have bombed the Tamil Tigers' radio station in the north of the island, the rebels say. |
| The raid came as the rebels' top leader was about to give his annual policy speech. A Tamil Tiger statement said many civilians had been killed. | The raid came as the rebels' top leader was about to give his annual policy speech. A Tamil Tiger statement said many civilians had been killed. |
| It was not possible to independently verify the casualty claims. | |
| The rebels still broadcast the speech. Their leader Prabhakaran said hopes of peace were "political naivety". The government says it wants to kill him. | |
| Fighting between troops and the rebels, who want autonomy for minority Tamils in the north and east, has worsened in recent months. | |
| Building 'flattened' | |
| The Tamil Tigers said the air raid on their radio station, known as Voice of the Tigers, came at 1630 local time. | |
| The rebels mark what they call War Heroes' Day every year on 27 November. | |
| "Many civilian employees present at the Voice of Tigers office to broadcast the War Heroes' commemorations were killed by the bombing. The Voice of Tigers buildings were flattened," a statement on the rebels' website said. | |
| "Two Kfir bombers dropped 12 bombs on the buildings. The building was situated on the A9 road and civilians travelling on the road were also killed." | |
| Sri Lanka's military said the air force had raided "a clandestine radio station" in Kilinochchi, where the rebels have their headquarters. | |
| Military spokesman Udaya Nanayakkara said he was not aware whether the radio station hit had been the Voice of the Tigers. | |
| Government death threat | |
| On Monday, the government marked Prabhakaran's 53rd birthday with a vow to kill him, after the leader of the Tigers' political wing SP Thamilselvan was killed in an air strike earlier this month. | |
| "The killing of Thamilselvan sent a very powerful message: they know we have good intelligence on their movements," defence secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa told the AFP news agency. | |
| "We are after him [Prabhakaran]. We are specifically targeting their leadership." | |
| A Norwegian-brokered ceasefire in 2002 broke down after two years ago, resulting in renewed fighting that has killed more than 5,000 people. | |
| At least 70,000 people have died since the war began in 1983. |