COLOMBO , Sri Lanka ( CNN -- Military officials in Sri Lanka said they shot down a Tamil Tiger aircraft near the Colombo International Airport on Friday , in an air engagement with rebels that killed two people and left about 50 wounded . An injured survivor of a suicide attack in northeast Sri Lanka on February 9 . Sri Lankan officials claimed both planes were shot down by the Sri Lankan Air Force , SLAF , refuting the Tiger 's claim they were conducting suicide missions in the country 's capital . A spokesperson for the Sri Lankan Military said the body of a Tamil Tiger guerrilla was found by the plane 's wreckage after it was shot down near the Colombo International Airport . The other plane , which entered the capital of Colombo , dropped a bomb but crashed into the offices of the Department of Inland Revenue , two blocks away from Air Force Headquarters , a military spokesman said . According to the Sri Lanka 's Lankapuvath news agency , the country 's air defense was activated at 9:30 p.m. ( 11 a.m . ET ) Friday after receiving information that two of the rebels light aircrafts were circulating over Colombo . `` Both aircrafts were brought down by air force firing , '' Lankapuvath reported . `` The dead body of the LTTE pilot was also found strewn about . '' The news agency said 50 people were admitted to Colombo General Hospital due to injuries from the crash . Two died from their wounds . According to the pro-Tamil Tiger Web site Tamil.net.com , two Black Air Tiger Pilots -- the group 's elite squadron -- died after carrying out diving missions into Sri Lanka 's air force headquarters in Colombo and an air force base in Katunayaka . CNN could not independently verify the claims made by the rebels or the government . In a report released on Thursday , Human Rights Watch criticized the Sri Lankan government for its `` indiscriminate '' killings of civilian as it attempts to fight the rebel movement . As the rebel stronghold continues to shrink , civilians are trapped in the cross-fire , HRW said . `` Sri Lankan forces are shelling hospitals and so-called safe zones and slaughtering the civilians there , '' James Ross , legal and policy director at Human Rights Watch , said in a statement . HRW also condemned the Tamil Tigers for its treatment of civilians . The organization 's 45-page study said 2,000 civilians have been killed and another 5,000 have been wounded . The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam ( LTTE ) -- commonly known as the Tamil Tigers -- have fought for an independent homeland for the country 's ethnic Tamil minority since 1983 . The civil war has left more than 70,000 people dead .
NEW : Officials claim air force shot down rebel planes . Up to 250,000 dead , 50 wounded in capital , Human Rights Watch . Both sides to blame for rise in civilian casualties , Colombo says . 50 civilians trapped in Katunayaka conflict zone , aid groups say .