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The Sri Lankan government on Tuesday said the situation at the Katunayake airbase and the adjoining international airport, which were attacked by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam early in the morning, has been brought under control.
"Everything is now under control. We are now clearing the area and the airport may be opened later this evening as soon as the runway is cleared," a defence official said.
He said a few air force personnel were trapped by the militants in a terminal building for a few hours, but they were later rescued.
It was not clear if all the militants who participated in the raid had been killed.
The airport was shut down for civilian traffic and in-bound flights were redirected to Madras and other places.
There were several bodies of militants lying in the airport premises, most of them killed by security forces in the gun battle that went on for hours, the defence official said.
Three air force personnel were killed and eight others, including three civilians, were wounded in the attack. Among those wounded was a Russian engineer employed by Air Lanka.
President Chandrika Kumaratunga held a meeting with the three service chiefs in the morning and discussed the situation, a government spokesman said.
PTI
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