Sri Lanka Navy foils rebel suicide attack bid

COLOMBO, May 9 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka Navy said they had prevented an attempted suicide attack against the troops in the northeastern Mullaithivu district Saturday.

Navy spokesman Mahesh Karunaratne said at 3 a.m. local time (2130 GMT) the Navy's special boat squad destroyed one suicide boat, two boats of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and nabbed three other boats. At least 14 rebels were killed in the attack.

"The LTTE boats were targeting the Navy's patrol boats operating closer to the shore", Karunaratne said.

Meanwhile, the Sri Lanka Airforce said they airlifted a dead body of a civilian and 12 other injured people from the northeastern no-fire zone to hospital in the northern town of Anuradhapura on Saturday morning.

Airforce spokesman Janaka Nanayakkara said the LTTE had opened fire at some 186 civilians when they attempted to flee the rebel hold.

The LTTE has faced international condemnation for keeping civilians as human shields.

The Sri Lankan government has rejected international calls for a ceasefire in the no-fire zone.

A large number of civilians who got caught in the crossfire have been injured.

Around 50,000 more civilians are believed to be still trapped.