Military Planes Crash in Sri Lanka; 89 Die
A Sri Lankan air force plane crashed in the northern rebel-held Jaffna peninsula today, killing 51 people, a military officer said.
He said the twin-engine aircraft was probably attacked by Tamil rebels fighting for their own homeland in the north and east.
It was the second military plane to crash in the area in two days.
On Friday, 38 people died when an air force plane carrying troops home on leave went down. It was unclear whether the crash was caused by mechanical failure or an attack.
Nineteen soldiers also died Friday in a battle with Tamil rebels avenging an attack a day earlier that killed at least 18 rebels. Friday’s fighting also left five guerrillas dead.
In Colombo, a Tamil politician and peace process supporter was killed by a suspected rebel supporter.
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