COLOMBO, Dec 30 (Reuters) - Sri Lankan air force planes bombed Tamil Tigers in a key rebel-held area in the island's east on Saturday, the military said, stepping up an offensive in the region. The military said a Tiger artillery gun position was destroyed in the air strike in Vakarai, one of the last major rebel-held areas on the eastern coast. Another strike was successfully carried out on a Sea Tiger base in the nearby Pudukudiyirippu area, the military said in a statement. Fighting between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam which wants a separate homeland for ethnic Tamils in the north and east of the island has intensified in recent weeks, despite a 2002 truce.
