COLOMBO, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's military activated air defences in the capital Colombo on Friday after a report of a possible air attack by Tamil Tiger rebels.

"We are on alert from certain reports from ground troops hearing a noise" that sounded like an aircraft, said the air force spokesman, Wing Commander Janaka Nanayakkara. The separatist Tamil Tiger rebels, cornered in a rapidly shrinking war zone, have a fleet of small planes that they have used to carry out aerial attacks in the past. Although most of their territory has been taken by the rapid military advance, none of their small single-engined planes have been found by troops. (Reporting by Ranga Sirilal, editing by Tim Pearce)

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