国际英语新闻：Sri Lankan capital under rebel's air attack, 27 injured

COLOMBO, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels launched an air attack on the capital Colombo Friday night, with one aircraft being shot down and another one dropping a bomb on a government building, defense officials said.

    Military spokesman Udaya Nanayakkara said one aircraft was shot down by the Air Force near the Katunayake airport and the dead body of the pilot has been found.

Anti-air shots are fired in Colombo, capital of Sri Lanka, Feb. 20, 2009. Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels launched an air attack on the capital Colombo Friday night, with one aircraft being shot down and another one dropping a bomb on a government building, defense officials said.

Nanayakkara said another aircraft dropped a bomb at Inland Revenue department, but the casualties are not clear at the moment as the building has been closed.

    The government's defense spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella, on the other hand, said 27 people were injured when the government building was bombed.

    The two aircraft of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) entered the city at about 9:30 p.m. local time (0400 GMT).

Anti-air shots are fired in Colombo, capital of Sri Lanka, Feb. 20, 2009

The power was cut in the whole city and anti-air shots were fired in the capital for more than one hour.

    Aviation officials said the Katunayake airport was temporary closed and some incoming flights were diverted to India.

    The air raids come as the military claim its war against the LTTE is nearing its end as the rebels have been cornered into an area less than 100 km in the north.

    The LTTE made its first air attack against the capital in March2007, followed by at least eight other air raids against military and other targets in Colombo and other areas.

    Claiming discrimination at the hands of Sinhalese dominated governments, the LTTE has been fighting for more than two decades to carve out a Tamil homeland in the north and east for the minority Tamils.

    More than 70,000 people have been killed so far in Asia's longest civil war.