Colombo - Air force planes bombed Tamil rebel camps and bunkers in northern Sri Lanka as fighting claimed 13 lives and left more than 40 wounded, military officials said Wednesday.

Air force fighter jets bombed three rebel camps close to Oddusudan, 290 kilometres north of the capital, at around midnight on Tuesday, Air Force spokesman Wing Commander Andrew Wijesooriya said.

He said the camps had been kept under constant surveillance and air reconnaissance missions on Tuesday evening had observed intensified rebel activities, prompting the airstrike.

Early on Wednesday Air force MI 24 helicopter gunships carried out air sorties targeting a rebel bunker line and mortar gun position ahead of the forward defence lines in Muhamalai, he said.

The spokesman said that in both air attacks they had taken out the targets successfully, but details of the casualties were not known immediately.

In five other incidents reported from the Mannar, Vavuniya, Welioya and Muhamalai areas, 250 kilometres north of the capital, 11 rebels and two soldiers were killed while at least 30 rebels and 12 soldiers were injured.

The two soldiers were killed and 12 others were injured and 30 rebels were injured around the Welioya area on Tuesday where there have been exchanges or artillery and mortar fire between the two sides.

Six rebels were killed in Mannar and three more rebels killed in Vavuniya while two more rebels each were killed in Muhamalai, in Jaffna, on Tuesday.
Fighting between government troops and rebels has intensified during the past four months with the military claiming to have killed more than 2,500 rebels and lost more than 300 security personnel and police officers. (dpa)