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Sri Lanka Air Force jets pound LTTE airstrip

COLOMBO: An hour-and-a-half after the LTTE struck the Anuradhapura air base in the early hours of Monday, Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) supersonic fighter jets ‘pounded’ an LTTE airstrip located at Iranamadu area in the north.

According to the Defence Ministry, the sorties were carried out around 5.30 a.m. by both MIG and Kfir jets and they destroyed the identified targets.

It was not clear if the latest strike was targeted at the two light aircraft of the Tigers which were part of the Anuradhapura air base attack.

For months now, the SLAF has been engaged in strikes on suspected airstrips of the Tigers.

Political and diplomatic observers here are surprised how the Tiger aircraft managed to stay in the air for at least half-an-hour without taking a hit particularly after the Sri Lanka Government in June/July claimed to have put in place a ‘fool-proof’ air defence system to counter the nascent air power of the LTTE.

Defence spokesperson and Minister, Keheliya Rembukwella, said the new air defence system detected the Tiger aircraft well in time but neither of the two aircraft could be intercepted as the military helicopter dispatched to chase them developed a technical snag and crashed. Two pilots and two gun men in the helicopter died in the crash.

Mr. Keheliya said the ground forces at Anuradhapura could not take on the LTTE aircraft as they were engaged in a fierce battle with a 21-member Tiger suicide group which had split into two groups and was firing at them.

“Further, we could not afford to open indiscriminate fire as the Tiger suicide squad was outside the airbase. Just outside the base are civilian settlements and indiscretion on the part of the forces could have led to civilian casualties,” the Minister said.

According to the Defence Ministry, two Russian-built MI 24 helicopter gunships and a K8 aircraft on the ground were “severely damaged” in the Tiger attack. Besides a Bell 212 helicopter pursuing the Tiger aircraft crashed onto Doramadalawa in the Mihinthale area due to a “technical fault.”

The helicopter was called in for assistance from the adjacent airbase in Vavuniya district. The Air Force has ordered an inquiry to determine the cause of the crash.

The military said the bodies of 20 LTTE cadres who participated in the pre-dawn attack have been found in subsequent search operations in the area by the Army and police.

The Defence Ministry said a number of the suicide squad members of the LTTE, as per the photograph released by the organisation, were in the age group of 13 to 16.

The LTTE said that at 3.20 a.m. a special LTTE Black Tiger team of 21 men and women attacked the Anuradhapura base and ‘destroyed and burnt down’ eight planes and helicopters, including reconnaissance planes and training planes.

“Following this attack, at 4.30 a.m. the LTTE Air Force bombed the same Sri Lankan Air Force base. Here is the list of aircraft belonging to the Sri Lankan Air Force that were totally destroyed by the LTTE: one training plane, two MI-24 helicopters, one MI-17, one PT-6, one Bell-212, one reconnaissance plane, one CTH-748,” a statement issued by the Tigers said.

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