The death toll from a attack by Tamil Tiger rebels that closed Sri Lanka's only international airport today rose to 14 with at least 12 more wounded, the military said.
"There are at least nine terrorists dead," said military spokesman Brig Sanath Karunaratne. "Five airforce or army personnel died," he said. Another 12 military personnel were wounded in the attack, he added.
Five civilian airliners and eight military aircraft were destroyed or damaged, officials said.
The dead included several Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam suicide bombers, and body parts could be seen in different areas of the terminal.
There were huge clouds of smoke after the pre-dawn attack, which began at a military base next to the civilian Bandaranaike International Airport and came on the anniversary of 1983 anti-Tamil riots that are considered to mark the start of Sri Lanka's ethnic war.
The airport and the airbase are side by side about 20 miles north of Colombo. The airport was closed and a curfew was imposed in the immediate area.