Sri Lankan Air Force jets on Thursday bombed an LTTE training base inside a rebel-held territory as ground troops killed at least 40 Tamil Tigers in a series of clashes in the island’s embattled north, officials here said.

Two soldiers were killed and 17 others sustained injuries in the clashes with the LTTE rebels. The supersonic jets bombed the LTTE base located at Kokkuthuduwai in Mulaithiuvu this morning, the Defence Ministry said, adding pilots confirmed that the targeted position was severely damaged in the attack.

This was the second aerial raid undertaken by the Lankan Air Force during the last four days. In north-western Mannar, at least 22 LTTE cadres were killed today by the security forces when a group of Tiger militants tried to storm the cleared areas, the Media Centre for National Security said.“The latest bout of LTTE violence erupted in north-west of giant tank at Parappakandal in Mannar this morning when a group of Tiger militants tried to storm the cleared areas,” it said.

Though troops have found eight bodies of LTTE cadres during the subsequent search operation, monitored radio transmissions of LTTE have revealed that 14 more militants were killed in the incident, the Defence Ministry said.

Two army personnel were killed and 12 others injured in the clashes.