Sri Lankan fighter Jets pound Rebels
'Pakistan Times' Wire Service

COLOMBO: Sri Lankan fighter jets pounded Tamil Tiger positions on Tuesday as the rebels fired mortar bombs in a battle for water in the restive east, hours after one of the deadliest ambushes since a 2002 truce.

Military spokesman Brig. Prasad Samarasinghe said troops, locked in a battle with the Tigers on Monday that killed 12 soldiers and at least three guerrillas in the east, were trying to consolidate the area, despite rebel warnings of retaliation.

"The operation is continuing. Troops will try and consolidate the area in and around the sluice gate," Samarasinghe told foreign news agency.

"Aerial bombings have started again this morning," he added.

There were no immediate details of any new casualties.●