Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers have bombed an air force base which is situated next to Colombo International Airport, killing three people and injuring 16 others.

No civilians were hurt in the bombing which took place overnight (around 00.45 local time and 20.15 CET), although the airport was temporarily closed as a precaution.
The bombing from the air is being seen as rebel retaliation for continuing air force strikes on Tamil bases in the north of the country and comes at a time when more than 4,000 people have been killed in the last 15 months. The rebel group has claimed responsibility for the attack and promised more of the same.
Tourism to Sri Lanka was already in the doldrums and this will not help. The main airport is now operating normally, but on a heightened state of emergency with the lasting memory of the last Tamil Tiger attack on the airport several years ago when 18 people were killed and several injured and national airliners were also blown up.