Sri Lanka Tigers say air strike kills 43 girls [View All]

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Sri Lanka Tigers say air strike kills 43 girls

COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels accused the government of bombing an orphanage in rebel territory on Monday and killing 43 schoolgirls soon after a suspected Tiger front group threatened attacks in the country's south.

The government -- which on Sunday called on Tiger fighters to simply surrender -- accused the rebels of shelling civilian areas in the northern Jaffna peninsula, saying it feared fatalities as the worst fighting since a 2002 ceasefire raged on.

A military source confirmed air strikes had been launched on rebel territory but had no details of targets hit or casualties. With contact with the conflict-hit areas limited, the rebel report could not be immediately confirmed.

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