Israeli-built Kfir jets hit Tiger targets inside the rebel-held Wanni region, military officials said, adding they had no immediate details of casualties.
COLOMBO: Sri Lankan war planes bombed Tamil Tiger positions on Wednesday as troops hunted rebel infiltrators in northern Jaffna peninsula after resisting a guerrilla advance, officials said.
Israeli-built Kfir jets hit Tiger targets inside the rebel-held Wanni region, military officials said, adding they had no immediate details of casualties.
"Several targets were taken by the air force, but we don't have details yet," a military official here said.
Troops and police across the country were on alert and schools nationwide remained shut as the government feared rebel reprisals for a deadly air raid which killed dozens of children on Monday.
In Jaffna, soldiers in full battle gear carried out searches for rebel infiltrators along a front line within the peninsula where heavy fighting broke out Friday, officials said.
There was no immediate reaction from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to military claims that troops beat back a guerrilla offensive on Tuesday against the town of Jaffna.
Tamil towns in the island's north and east observed a strike on Wednesday to protest against a bombing raid which the Tigers said killed 61 children in rebel-held territory on Monday.
Shops and offices in Muslim towns closed and streets were deserted, residents said. Security was also stepped up in Colombo after an unprecedented bomb attack on a Pakistani diplomat here on Monday.
Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse met newspaper editors on Wednesday and called for responsible reporting, saying the country was not at war, journalists who attended the meeting said.
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