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Tigers sink navy ship ahead of polls in Sri Lanka
Tamil Tiger rebels bombed and sank a navy cargo ship off eastern Sri Lanka early on Saturday with no casualties reported, and infantry clashes in the embattled north killed 24 rebels and two soldiers, the military said.
- AP
- Published: 11:56 May 10, 2008
Colombo: Tamil Tiger rebels bombed and sank a navy cargo ship off eastern Sri Lanka early on Saturday with no casualties reported, and infantry clashes in the embattled north killed 24 rebels and two soldiers, the military said.
The attack on the ship took place just hours before residents of eastern Sri Lanka began voting in a critical provincial election in a formerly rebel-held region.
Tamil Tigers attacked the navy ship with an underwater explosion in the early hours of the morning and the vessel sank, said navy spokesman Commander D.K.P. Dassanayake. The 65 metre craft was empty of cargo, he said.
"We suspect the blast was carried out by a suicide diver," he said.
Rebel spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan was not immediately available for comment.
A pro-rebel website reported that suicide attackers from the guerrillas' Sea Tiger wing sank the ship. Despite the navy spokesman's claim it was empty, the site said it was loaded with explosives to be transported for use by soldiers in the northern Jaffna peninsula.
Residents in the east were voting on Saturday in their first major election — less than a year after the rebels lost control of the region.
But a new round of attacks blamed on the rebels threatened to undermine the poll.
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