& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Tigers strike back sinking Lankan navy craft

10 sailors go missing, heavy land battles erupt

Afp Colombo
Tamil Tiger rebels struck back against a mounting Sri Lankan military' offensive yesterday by sinking a naval fast attack craft, leaving 10 sailors missing, officials said.
A navy craft was destroyed in a "mystery blast" caused by the Liberation ligers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the defence ministry said, adding that the guerrillas appeared to have developed new underwater capabilities.
"The navy suspects the blast was caused by a possible sea mine or dur to some underwater weapon" developed by the rebels, the ministry said, adding that there was no sea battle oi any guerrilla craft in sight during the sinking.
The military retaliated with combined land-air attacks against suspected l iger positions, capturing some land in Mannar district, while ground troops killed 15 rebels, the defence ministry said, adding that two soldiers also died.
There was no immediate word from the rebels about the land offensive.
But the LITE said they sank the navy craft by using three suicide bombers in the pre-dawn attack In high seas off rebel-held Mullaitivu district.
Six sailors from the locally made Dvora class last attack craft were rescued by another boat patrolling off Mullaitivu where the Tigers have their main military bases, navy spokesman D K P Dassanayakesaid.
Ten more were missing after the blast.
" The officer in charge and five others from the FAC (fast attack craft) were rescued," Dassanayake said. "One of them said the craft started taking on water after a huge explosion. They got into a liferaft."
The pro-rebel Tamilnet.com website reported the navy craft was sunk in a suicide attack launched by three "Black Sea Tigers," or suicide bombers.
The Tamil Tigers are known for their trademark suicide bombings and have been outlawed as a "terrorist" outfit by the United States since October 1997.
The sinking of the navy boat came hours after a military bus was hit by a landmine in the district of Mannar on Friday night, leaving at least two soldiers dead and six wounded, the military said.
The government claims it has killed 2,257 rebels since January against the loss of 133 of its own troops. The government allows no journalists or rights groups into the embattled regions, making it impossible to verify the figures.
However, troops have made little progress in taking rebel territory in the island's north, military sources said.
Thousands of people have been killed in a new wave of fighting since December 2005, when a Norwegian-brokered truce began to unravel.The tnice was formally ended by the government in January.