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Air force bombs Tamil Tiger radio Children die in Sri Lanka blast
(about 3 hours later)
Sri Lankan air force jets have bombed the Tamil Tigers' radio station in the north of the island, the rebels say. Tamil Tiger rebels in Sri Lanka say more than 20 civilians, most of them children, have been killed in two attacks by the military in the north.
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. At least 11 of those killed were schoolchildren whose bus hit a mine laid by the military, the rebels said. The military denied responsibility.
It was not possible to independently verify the casualty claims. Nine others died when the Tigers' radio station was bombed, the rebels said.
The rebels still broadcast the speech. Their leader Prabhakaran said hopes of peace were "political naivety". The government says it wants to kill him. Earlier, the Tamil Tiger leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran, said hopes for peace were naive.
Fighting between troops and the rebels, who want autonomy for minority Tamils in the north and east, has worsened in recent months.Fighting between troops and the rebels, who want autonomy for minority Tamils in the north and east, has worsened in recent months.
Building 'flattened' Observers say the two sides are gearing up for major confrontation in the north.
The Tamil Tigers said the air raid on their radio station, known as Voice of the Tigers, came at 1630 local time. 'Genocidal'
The rebels mark what they call War Heroes' Day every year on 27 November. According to the rebels, the children killed by the mine on Tuesday were on their way to a ceremony to remember the rebels' war dead.
"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. The Sinhala nation is trying to destroy the Tamil nation Velupillai Prabhakaran
"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." "Thirteen civilians, including 11 schoolchildren, were killed in a claymore attack, by the Deep Penetration Unit of the Government of Sri Lanka, on a van near Iyankulam, 25km west of Kilinochchi town," the rebels said.
Sri Lanka's military said the air force had raided "a clandestine radio station" in Kilinochchi, where the rebels have their headquarters. The driver and an adult accompanying the children were also killed, a statement said. Pictures on the rebels' website showed the bodies of schoolgirls laid out on the ground.
Military spokesman Udaya Nanayakkara said he was not aware whether the radio station hit had been the Voice of the Tigers. The rebels are frequently accused of using claymore mines against government forces.
Government death threat Sri Lanka's military denied carrying out the attack, saying they had no ground units in the area where the attack took place.
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 rebels mark what they call Heroes' Day every year on 27 November.
"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. Just an hour before the address from Tamil Tiger leader Prabhakaran was due to begin, Sri Lanka's air force flattened a clandestine radio station near Kilinochchi in the rebel-held north.
Nine people, five of them radio station employees, were killed, the rebels said.
The speech was broadcast, nevertheless, with Prabhakaran saying it was naivety to believe peace was possible with any of the parties in the Sinhalese-dominated south of the country.
He described the government as "genocidal" and said the international community should stop propping it up with economic and military aid.
Since his last address the Tigers have been driven from the east of the country and are under pressure in areas of the north that they still control.
But they have also unveiled new tactics deploying light planes, modified to carry bombs on night-time raids, the BBC's Roland Buerk in Colombo reports.
Death threat
On Monday, the government marked Prabhakaran's 53rd birthday with a vow to kill him.
Defence secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said the killing of the Tigers' political leader in an air strike earlier this month sent "a very powerful message".
"They know we have good intelligence on their movements," he told the AFP news agency.
"We are after him [Prabhakaran]. We are specifically targeting their leadership.""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. A Norwegian-brokered ceasefire in 2002 broke down 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.At least 70,000 people have died since the war began in 1983.