Colombo, January 23: The Sri Lankan military said its air force bombed a hideout of Tamil Tigers chief Velupillai Prabhakaran in the north Wednesday and it believed he was there when the bombing took place.
The Media Center for National Security said the bombing occurred at about 11.15 a.m. at Iranamadu, in an area bordering the northern districts of Mullaitivu and Kilinochchi.

Air force spokesman Andi Wijesoriya said the air sorties were carried out with pinpoint accuracy on information obtained through real-time air surveillance and ground reconnaissance.

LTTE police chief S.P. Tamilselvan was killed in a similar air strike Nov 2 last year in the island's north.

The LTTE has been fighting since 1983 for an independent state for Sri Lanka's Tamil minority in the north and east claiming discrimination at the hands of Sinhalese-dominated governments.

More than 70,000 people have been killed in one of the world's longest running conflicts.