A Tamil Tiger suicide bomber killed seven people today after he tried to blow up an army camp in Sri Lanka.
The attack came just a day after rebels carried out their first air strike since fighting erupted in 1983.
Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama
Troops shot the suicide bomber as he tried to drive an explosives-laden tractor into the camp in the eastern district of Batticaloa, setting off an explosion which killed him, two soldiers and four civilians, and wounded 13 others.
Responding to the attacks, the military launched a second consecutive day of air strikes across Tiger-held territory, saying it had destroyed artillery and mortar positions, but there were no immediate details of any casualties.
"We suspect there were more than 200 kg (440 lbs) of explosives (in the tractor)," said military spokesman Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe. "You can't find even a piece of the trailer. If it had come into the camp, it would have been a major disaster."
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) were not immediately available for comment on the attack.
A military investigation into how the Tigers managed to fly a light aircraft over the capital undetected, drop bombs and return to their northern stronghold without being shot down, is still underway.
The rebels claimed to have knocked out 40 per cent of the air force's strike capability, but the military said none of its fighter jets targeted by the rebels were damaged in the strike. Nordic truce monitors say they have not had access to the area.
The Tigers said more such attacks by its air wing would follow, threatening to deepen renewed conflict in the island state off the toe of India. The government aims to destroy all rebel military assets, but says the door to resume peace talks remains open - which the rebels laugh off.
The civilian airport, 23 miles (37 km) north of the capital, next door to the air base was not damaged in yesterday's attack but was closed for several hours.
Cathay Pacific has suspended inbound and outbound flights.
"The fact that they have acquired air capability, even with a single aircraft a suicide bomber can go in, is a threat to the region," Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama told the Foreign Correspondents' Association.
"Within the region, we have to be more vigilant, more cautious," he added, saying he would raise the issue at next week's South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit. "We are looking at a regional counter-terrorism drive."