SRI JAYAWARDENAPURA-KOTTE, Sri Lanka, Dec. 27 (UPI) -- The Sri Lankan military announced Thursday that it destroyed a rebel Tamil Tiger naval base in the northern part of the country.
The military said strikes using Russian-made MiG jets and Israeli-made Kfir jets destroyed the base, which was being used by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam's sea squadron, the Voice of America reported Thursday.
The strike came one day after a sea battle between the Sri Lankan navy and the Tamil Tiger rebels that the country's Defense Ministry claimed resulted in the destruction of 11 Tamil Tiger ships and killed 40 rebels. A spokesman for the Tamil Tigers claimed four rebels were killed a Sri Lankan navy vessel was destroyed in the battle.
Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara, a military spokesman, said the campaign is aimed at bringing the rebels to the negotiating table.
"This is not a special operation as such," he explained. "We wanted to impose maximum casualties and take them to the table where we can talk about peace."
