The Tamil Tigers' air wing set a power station ablaze in the Sri Lankan capital and hit an army base on Tuesday in separate air raids, the military said.

The bombing runs were the eighth and ninth raids by the Liberation Tiger of Tamil Eelam's (LTTE) ramshackle air force of single-engine propeller-driven planes, which have bedevilled the Sri Lankan military since first striking in March 2007.

Tuesday's first attack hit Thalladi military camp about 250 km (150 miles) north of Colombo in Mannar district, causing minor damage and injuring one soldier, military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara said.

Soon after, radar picked up an unidentified aircraft heading south over the Indian Ocean towards Colombo. The city was plunged into darkness after power was switched off as a precaution, jets were scrambled and air defences activated.

"At around 1130 (1800 GMT), an LTTE light aircraft came into Colombo and dropped bombs at Kelanitissa power station. Anti-aircraft guns were activated. There is some fire in the area and firefighters have been sent there," Nanayakkara said.

Shortly after the lights went out, the sound of anti-aircraft guns thundered from Colombo's shoreline, and people stood in the streets to watch.

Nanayakkara said it was not clear whether the raids were carried out by one plane or two.

LONG CONFLICT

The rebels are locked in heavy fighting with the military in northern Sri Lanka, where the government is confident it will defeat a foe its has battled since 1983 in one of Asia'a longest-running insurgencies.

The military has stepped up its offensive in the last three months and says it is within striking distance of the rebel capital Kilinochchi. It says it has steadily seized one LTTE stronghold after another as it marches north.

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