Heavy losses in Sri Lanka clash: LTTE AIR CRAFTS RETURN HOME SAFELY:

Heavy losses in Sri Lanka clash

Tamil Tiger suicide attackers with rebel leader Prabhakaran
The suicide attackers pose with rebel leader Prabhakaran before the attack

Sri Lanka's military says 12 soldiers and a policemen have been killed during a Tamil Tiger attack on a base in the northern area of Vavuniya.

The Tigers say 10 of their suicide fighters were killed in the raid.

The government says a Tiger plane was shot down, a claim which the rebel group has denied.

Meanwhile, the UN says its staff will begin leaving rebel-held territory this week, after a government order banning foreign aid workers from the area.

Indian technicians

The Ministry of Defence says the pre-dawn land and air attack by the Tigers on an army and air force complex was "completely foiled".

Map

It said that 10 Tamil Tigers had been killed, as well as 12 soldiers and one policeman.

Sources in the Sri Lanka air force also said they had shot down a Tamil Tiger plane in the Mullaittivu region. If confirmed, it would be the first rebel plane downed by the military. The media are denied access to the area.

The Indian High Commission in the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo, told the BBC Tamil service that two Indian radar technicians working at the air base had been injured in the attack. Its spokesman Thinkar Asthana said the technicians were doing routine maintenance and servicing work in the complex.

That has been denied by the Sri Lankan army.

In their account of the fighting, the Tigers said that 10 of their suicide attackers died and that they had destroyed a Sri Lankan air force radar station. They said at least 20 soldiers had been killed and they denied that any of their planes had been shot down.

Weapon stores, a communication tower, a communication facility and anti-aircraft guns were destroyed in this attack, the Tigers' military spokesman, Rasiah Marshall, said.


A Tamil Tiger picture of bombs loaded beneath a plane
The Tamil Tiger aircraft have improvised bomb racks

Tamil Tigers unveil latest tactic

The Tigers released a photograph of the suicide attackers, taken with Tamil Tiger leader Prabhakaran, before the attack and said the suicide squad had been assisted by other fighters on land and in the airplanes.

The Tigers' rudimentary air force began operations last year with a surprise attack on an air base on the outskirts of the capital, Colombo.

The BBC's Roland Buerk in Colombo says the Tamil Tigers have a number of small Czech-built, two-seater, propeller-driven Zlin-143 aircraft, which are operated from jungle airstrips.

They are thought to have been smuggled into the island in pieces, then reassembled and modified to carry bombs, our correspondent says.

Tuesday's clash comes as government forces continue a major offensive against the rebels in northern areas of the island.

On Monday, the government ordered all aid workers out of the battle zone, saying it could not guarantee their safety.

The Tamil Tigers have been fighting for a separate state for the Tamil minority in the north and east of Sri Lanka for 25 years. More than 70,000 people have died.

SLAF vs TAF - 09/09/2008


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Tuesday 09, Sep.,'08
Video: Subsequent to the commencement of the ground attack from the South of the Air Base an LTTE aircraft was detected by the radar at around 3.26 a.m. A second LTTE Aircraft was spotted 5 minutes later and SLAF interceptor jets scrambled from SLAF Base Katunayake to engage the enemy craft. The highly skilled ground radar controllers and the highly professional and committed fighter pilots pooled their skills to home in on the intruders. The first air to air kill, to be recorded over Sri Lankan skies since World War II, was thus enacted. READ MORE

SLAF Aircraft Intercepted & Destroyed An LTTE Aircraft


Full text of an official statement released by the SLAF follows;

(September 09, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) In the early hours of today at approximately 0310 hrs LTTE terrorists launched a pre-dawn ground assault coordinated with artillery fire and an air raid with the intention of causing damage to Air Force assets in the Vavuniya air base.
Subsequent to the commencement of the ground attack from the South of the Air Base an LTTE aircraft was detected by the radar at around 3.26 a.m. A second LTTE Aircraft was spotted 5 minutes later and SLAF interceptor jets scrambled from SLAF Base Katunayake to engage the enemy craft.

The highly skilled ground radar controllers and the highly professional and committed fighter pilots pooled their skills to home in on the intruders. The first air to air kill, to be recorded over Sri Lankan skies since World War II, was thus enacted. One of the LTTE Zlin 143 machines was shot down over the Mulativu Jungles at approximately 0355 am, ensuring a place in Sri Lankan aviation history for the pilot and the Chinese built F7 interceptor .

The ground assault was also blunted by the valiant efforts of the SLAF Ground troops and the SL Army personnel who had now rushed to join the battle to prevent the enemy achieving his devious ends. Eleven terrorists met their end and their bodies were recovered subsequently far from the SLAF perimeter, a mission that ended in utter failure for the LTTE.

Five SLAF personnel sustained injury due to the Artillery attack, whilst a few buildings were also superficially damaged due to sharpnel.
- Sri Lanka Guardian

END
SRI LANAKN GUARDIN REPORT IS BIASED AND PREJUDICED SUPPLIED BY THE TYRANNICAL, DESPOTIC GOVERNMENT OF THE PRESIDENT RAJAPAKSE AND HIS 3 BROTHERS.