BY : Reuters

Sri Lankan jets shot down a Tamil Tiger plane after the rebels launched a pre-dawn bombing raid on a military base near the northern frontline on Tuesday, the military said.

It is the first downing of a plane belonging to the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) since they debuted their air wing with a surprise attack on a military airfield in the capital Colombo in March 2007, the military said.

"The LTTE attempted to launch an attack on our air force base in Vavuniya. On their withdrawal, SLAF (Sri Lankan Air Force) interceptors destroyed one aircraft over Mullaittivu," air force spokesman Wing Commander Janaka Nanayakkara said.

Nanayakkara had no details on damage from the bombing raid, and declined to say how many rebel aircraft were involved.

Mullaittivu is a rebel-held port on Sri Lanka's northeastern coast, and one of the areas the military is pushing toward on at least four fronts across the Indian Ocean island nation's north.

Earlier, military officials speaking on condition of anonymity said radar picked up three rebel planes and soon after at least one bombed a military base in Vavuniya, one of the military's main rear echelon areas south of the frontline.

The early morning air raid was accompanied by an artillery strike from the LTTE, which has been fighting since 1983 to establish a separate homeland for the ethnic minority Tamils in northern and eastern Sri Lanka.

This is the seventh air raid by the rebels since they began flying a small fleet of Czech-made Zlin-143 aircraft. The last rebel air attack wounded 10 sailors after a bombing run on the strategic eastern port of Trincomalee in August. Analysts say the military, which has steadily been seizing rebel outposts and bases over the past three weeks, has the upper hand on the rebels in the latest phase of the war.

Military officials say this is also the bloodiest combat since 1999, but say they have no intention of relenting on their goal of wiping out the Tigers, who are on U.S., European, Indian and U.N. terrorism lists.

On Monday, the government ordered all aid workers out of the battle zone, saying it could not guarantee their safety.