Sri Lanka says bombed rebel positions in north

COLOMBO, Nov 26 (Reuters) - The Sri Lankan air force pounded Tamil Tiger rebel positions on Monday in the restive north and four civilians were shot dead by rebels.

The air raid in rebel-held Kilinochchi and the attack on the civilians in the north-central district of Anuradhapura are the latest bouts in intensified fighting between government forces and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels.

The military is on alert for possible Tamil Tiger rebel attacks during rebel "Heroes' Week" celebrations which will end on Tuesday after shadowy rebel leader Velupillai Prabhakaran, who lives in hiding, makes his annual policy statement.

"Air force jets bombed a LTTE leaders' rendezvous point in Puthukudiyruppu in the evening and 10 minutes later, another identified LTTE target was raided west of Kilinochchi," a spokesman at the Media Centre for National Security said.

The military said four civilians were shot dead by the Tamil Tiger rebels in Anuradhapura.

The military also said 14 rebels had been killed in north of the island in separate clashes during the past 24 hours.

There was no independent confirmation and military analysts say both sides exaggerate enemy losses and play down their own.

The Tigers, marking "Heroes' Week" by honouring comrades killed in the fight for an independent state for minority ethnic Tamils in the north and east, were not immediately available for comment.

"Normally they increase their activities whereever possible, we know that. Therefore we have educated our troops to be extra vigilant," military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said.

Around 5,000 people have been killed in fighting between the military and the LTTE since early 2006. Nearly 70,000 people have been killed and hundreds of thousands displaced since the war erupted in 1983. (Reporting by Ranga Sirilal; Editing by Alison Williams)