Indra again fall into sleep!
Paper no. 2906 30-Oct.-2008
LTTE Air Wing Strikes Again - International Terrorism Monitor--Paper No. 463
by B. Raman
The air wing of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) carried out two attacks within an interval of about 90 minutes on a military target in the North and an economic target in Colombo on the night of October 28, 2008. This is the seventh operation by the LTTE's air wing since it went into action in March last year.
2. Tamilnet, the pro-LTTE web site in the English language, which has again been giving battle front news after being silent on this subject for some days last week, reported as follows on the LTTE air attacks of October 28: " The LTTE carried out an air attack on the Thallaadi military base, the main artillery and Multi-Barrel Rocket Launcher (MBRL) launchpad of the Sri Lanka Army in Mannaar around 10:30 p.m., dropping three bombs on the base.
The Tiger aircrafts then proceeded to Colombo and dropped two bombs on the Kelanitissa power station, while Sri Lankan Air Force (SLAF) bombers were searching for LTTE aircrafts in the skies over Kilinochchi between 11:00 and 11:30 a.m. The SLAF aircrafts were flying over the suburbs of Mullaiththeevu and Puthukkudiyiruppu with para lights focused on the ground from 1:30 a.m. on October 29. An SLAF reconnaissance aircraft was continuously circling over Vanni from 11:00 p.m. Immediately after the Tiger air raid on the Thallaadi garrison, the SLAF fighters were circling over the suburbs of Kilinochchi, Iranaimadu, Visuvamadu and Murasumoaddai areas between 11:00 and 11:30 p.m. The SLAF aircrafts were using para lights in their search mission over Vanni. Civilian sources said the Tiger aircrafts flew back to Vanni over Mannaar. "It did not specifically mention the safe return
of the aircraft to their base.
3. However, http://www.puthinam.com/, the pro-LTTE website in the Tamil language, carried the following official announcement purporting to be from the LTTE: "At 10-20 PM on Tuesday night, Air Tigers of the LTTE bombed the Thallaadi military base in the Mannaar region. The military base sustained heavy damages. Many were killed and injured. At 11-45 PM on Tuesday the Air Tigers carried out a successful attack on the Kelanitissa power station in
Colombo. After carrying out these strikes, the aircrafts returned safely to base."
4. Pro-LTTE sources have tried to give the impression that more than one LTTE aircraft were involved in the two attacks. The report of the Reuters correspondent claimed that only one aircraft was involved in the attack on the military base. Sri Lankan military sources have also spoken of only one aircraft being involved in the attack on the Colombo power station. Pro-LTTE sources have claimed that the same aircraft or aircrafts, after dropping
the bombs on the military base in the Mannaar area, flew to Colombo to bomb the power station. The military base attacked is about 250 Kms to the north of Colombo. Would the aircraft or aircrafts, which must have been carrying at least two bombs each, have had sufficient fuel to be able to take off from the Vanni region, bomb the military base, fly to Colombo, bomb the power station and then return to their secret base?
5. Pro-LTTE sources have claimed that there were many fatalities and severe equipment damage in the military base, but according to Army sources, there were no fatalities and very little equipment damage. Only one security forces personnel was injured, they claimed. The power station admitted the death of one of its employees due to shock when the bomb or bombs fell. The administrative buildings and the cooling system sustained some
damage resulting in a fire, which was put out by the Fire Brigade. Pro-LTTE sources have claimed some damage to the turbines, but there are so far no reports of any serious disruption of the power supply in Colombo.
6. The attacks were tactically successful in the sense that the aircraft involved in the two attacks reportedly returned safely to base after dropping the bombs on the targets without being intercepted by planes of the Sri Lankan Air Force (SLAF) or without being hit and brought down by the anti-aircraft defence. But their strategic significance is limited since they do not appear to have caused any damage of a serious nature. However, the attacks could
have a psychological significance in maintaining the morale of the LTTE cadres and its supporters in the Northern and Eastern Provinces and in the overseas diaspora.
7. These attacks and the earlier strike by two officers of the Sea Tigers, one of them a woman, on two commercial ships used by the Sri Lankan Army for carrying military supplies to the Sri Lankan troops in the Kilinochchi area at the Kankesanthurai port on October 22, 2008, show that the LTTE's command and control is functioning well despite the losses suffered by it on the ground in the Vanni region during the current ground offensive by the Sri Lankan Army.
8. Military analysts have commented that since the LTTE started using its air wing in March last year, it has been emulating the tactics followed by North Korea during the Korean war of the 1950s. The tactics consisted of using small planes to surprise and embarrass the South Korean and American Air Force planes without achieving any strategic objective. Since the LTTE started using its planes, only in two instances were substantial human fatalities and equipment damage inflicted. The first was during the raid on the Anuradhapura training base of the SLAF in October last year and the second was during the attack on the Vavuniya military base on September 9, 2008. Both these raids were conducted jointly by the LTTE's planes
from the air and suicide cadres from the ground. It is the suicide cadres on the ground, who caused the fatalities and most of the equipment damage.
The role of the aircraft was essentially psychological, meant, inter alia, to divert the attention of the ground personnel of the Sri Lankan security forces.
But the combined operations carried out successfully did show good qualities of co-ordination between air-borne and ground-based cadres. Whenever the LTTE planes have operated alone and not in conjunction with ground-based cadres, the results achieved were not significant operationally.
9. Aircraft operating alone without support from ground-based elements can cause substantial damage to an economic target if the bombs are powerful enough and the bombing is precise. The LTTE has carried out two bombings of economic targets so far----one against some petrol storage tanks in Colombo last year and the other against a power station in Colombo on the night of October 28. In both instances, the bombs were not powerful enough to cause serious equipment damage and the bombing was not precise. As a result, these two bombings failed to cause any economic dislocation.
10. The latest strikes like the previous ones once again highlighted the weak night operational capabilities of the SLAF and the weak anti-aircraft defences. They were neither able to bring the planes down through anti-aircraft fire, nor able to chase the raiding planes and force them down nor identify the place of landing of the LTTE planes as they returned to base and strike them from the air. It is reported that SLAF planes were patrolling in the air at the time of the return of the LTTE planes, but they failed to locate their landing place and strike at them as they were landing. The aircraft managed to land safely and ground-based technicians of the LTTE's air wing managed to dismantle them quickly and shift them to their intended place
of concealment.
(The writer is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India, New Delhi, and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai. )
Mystery over Tiger air raid
by B. Raman
The air wing of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) carried out two attacks within an interval of about 90 minutes on a military target in the North and an economic target in Colombo on the night of October 28, 2008. This is the seventh operation by the LTTE's air wing since it went into action in March last year.
2. Tamilnet, the pro-LTTE web site in the English language, which has again been giving battle front news after being silent on this subject for some days last week, reported as follows on the LTTE air attacks of October 28: " The LTTE carried out an air attack on the Thallaadi military base, the main artillery and Multi-Barrel Rocket Launcher (MBRL) launchpad of the Sri Lanka Army in Mannaar around 10:30 p.m., dropping three bombs on the base.
The Tiger aircrafts then proceeded to Colombo and dropped two bombs on the Kelanitissa power station, while Sri Lankan Air Force (SLAF) bombers were searching for LTTE aircrafts in the skies over Kilinochchi between 11:00 and 11:30 a.m. The SLAF aircrafts were flying over the suburbs of Mullaiththeevu and Puthukkudiyiruppu with para lights focused on the ground from 1:30 a.m. on October 29. An SLAF reconnaissance aircraft was continuously circling over Vanni from 11:00 p.m. Immediately after the Tiger air raid on the Thallaadi garrison, the SLAF fighters were circling over the suburbs of Kilinochchi, Iranaimadu, Visuvamadu and Murasumoaddai areas between 11:00 and 11:30 p.m. The SLAF aircrafts were using para lights in their search mission over Vanni. Civilian sources said the Tiger aircrafts flew back to Vanni over Mannaar. "It did not specifically mention the safe return
of the aircraft to their base.
3. However, http://www.puthinam.com/, the pro-LTTE website in the Tamil language, carried the following official announcement purporting to be from the LTTE: "At 10-20 PM on Tuesday night, Air Tigers of the LTTE bombed the Thallaadi military base in the Mannaar region. The military base sustained heavy damages. Many were killed and injured. At 11-45 PM on Tuesday the Air Tigers carried out a successful attack on the Kelanitissa power station in
Colombo. After carrying out these strikes, the aircrafts returned safely to base."
4. Pro-LTTE sources have tried to give the impression that more than one LTTE aircraft were involved in the two attacks. The report of the Reuters correspondent claimed that only one aircraft was involved in the attack on the military base. Sri Lankan military sources have also spoken of only one aircraft being involved in the attack on the Colombo power station. Pro-LTTE sources have claimed that the same aircraft or aircrafts, after dropping
the bombs on the military base in the Mannaar area, flew to Colombo to bomb the power station. The military base attacked is about 250 Kms to the north of Colombo. Would the aircraft or aircrafts, which must have been carrying at least two bombs each, have had sufficient fuel to be able to take off from the Vanni region, bomb the military base, fly to Colombo, bomb the power station and then return to their secret base?
5. Pro-LTTE sources have claimed that there were many fatalities and severe equipment damage in the military base, but according to Army sources, there were no fatalities and very little equipment damage. Only one security forces personnel was injured, they claimed. The power station admitted the death of one of its employees due to shock when the bomb or bombs fell. The administrative buildings and the cooling system sustained somedamage resulting in a fire, which was put out by the Fire Brigade. Pro-LTTE sources have claimed some damage to the turbines, but there are so far no reports of any serious disruption of the power supply in Colombo.
6. The attacks were tactically successful in the sense that the aircraft involved in the two attacks reportedly returned safely to base after dropping the bombs on the targets without being intercepted by planes of the Sri Lankan Air Force (SLAF) or without being hit and brought down by the anti-aircraft defence. But their strategic significance is limited since they do not appear to have caused any damage of a serious nature. However, the attacks could
have a psychological significance in maintaining the morale of the LTTE cadres and its supporters in the Northern and Eastern Provinces and in the overseas diaspora.
7. These attacks and the earlier strike by two officers of the Sea Tigers, one of them a woman, on two commercial ships used by the Sri Lankan Army for carrying military supplies to the Sri Lankan troops in the Kilinochchi area at the Kankesanthurai port on October 22, 2008, show that the LTTE's command and control is functioning well despite the losses suffered by it on the ground in the Vanni region during the current ground offensive by the Sri Lankan Army.
8. Military analysts have commented that since the LTTE started using its air wing in March last year, it has been emulating the tactics followed by North Korea during the Korean war of the 1950s. The tactics consisted of using small planes to surprise and embarrass the South Korean and American Air Force planes without achieving any strategic objective. Since the LTTE started using its planes, only in two instances were substantial human fatalities and equipment damage inflicted. The first was during the raid on the Anuradhapura training base of the SLAF in October last year and the second was during the attack on the Vavuniya military base on September 9, 2008. Both these raids were conducted jointly by the LTTE's planes
from the air and suicide cadres from the ground. It is the suicide cadres on the ground, who caused the fatalities and most of the equipment damage.
The role of the aircraft was essentially psychological, meant, inter alia, to divert the attention of the ground personnel of the Sri Lankan security forces.
But the combined operations carried out successfully did show good qualities of co-ordination between air-borne and ground-based cadres. Whenever the LTTE planes have operated alone and not in conjunction with ground-based cadres, the results achieved were not significant operationally.
9. Aircraft operating alone without support from ground-based elements can cause substantial damage to an economic target if the bombs are powerful enough and the bombing is precise. The LTTE has carried out two bombings of economic targets so far----one against some petrol storage tanks in Colombo last year and the other against a power station in Colombo on the night of October 28. In both instances, the bombs were not powerful enough to cause serious equipment damage and the bombing was not precise. As a result, these two bombings failed to cause any economic dislocation.
10. The latest strikes like the previous ones once again highlighted the weak night operational capabilities of the SLAF and the weak anti-aircraft defences. They were neither able to bring the planes down through anti-aircraft fire, nor able to chase the raiding planes and force them down nor identify the place of landing of the LTTE planes as they returned to base and strike them from the air. It is reported that SLAF planes were patrolling in the air at the time of the return of the LTTE planes, but they failed to locate their landing place and strike at them as they were landing. The aircraft managed to land safely and ground-based technicians of the LTTE's air wing managed to dismantle them quickly and shift them to their intended place
of concealment.
(The writer is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India, New Delhi, and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai. )
Mystery over Tiger air raid
Thursday, October 30,2008 COLOMBO:
Theories and more theories emerged Wednesday as to how the LTTE aircraft which bombed Mannar and then the Kelanitissa power plant, managed to evade being shot down by the Air Force despite flying such a distance. However the Air Force, while admitting the Tiger aircraft had managed to escape, ruled out at least one assumption that the Tiger aircraft involved in the raid in Mannar went undetected until it reached Colombo to take out its target. Defence sources said that two aircraft had taken off from Iranamadu and headed towards Mannar and Colombo. The Army’s 57th Division which operates along the front lines had detected the two aircraft on its radars and informed Colombo. The Air Force had then deployed F-7,
MI- 24 and PT6 aircrafts to bring down the Tiger plane.
MI- 24 and PT6 aircrafts to bring down the Tiger plane.
According to Air Force spokesman Wing Commander Janaka Nanayakkara a light
MysteryLTTE aircraft dropped two bombs on the Mannar Army headquarters in Thalladi, Mannar around 10.20 pm on Tuesday night.
“Three soldiers at the Army camp at Thalladi received minor injuries when the terrorist air craft dropped three bombs before it made its way towards Kelanitissa,” the military said.
Two buildings in the camp premises of the Army installation were slightly damaged. Multi-Barrel Rocket Launchers and artillery are stored in this
location and might have been the target of the LTTE, they said.
The Army then launched artillery and multi barrel fire towards Iranamadu while the Air Force also pounded the location where the LTTE airstrip is
believed to be located. The LTTE aircraft however managed to return to its base.
Meanwhile another LTTE aircraft headed towards Colombo during which time the electricity in the City and areas adjoining the Parliament as well as
other key installations around Colombo was shut down and the air defence systems activated.
“The Air Force tracked the LTTE plane from Mannar to Colombo. Once it flew over land anti- aircraft fire was directed towards the aircraft from several
locations including the harbour,” the Air Force spokesman said.
When contacted a Navy official said that the Navy was also alerted that a Tiger aircraft was heading for Colombo and was placed on standby.
The Tiger aircraft dropped at least two bombs on the Kelanitissa power plant before returning to the Wanni.
During the tense period roads close to Temple Trees were shut down and Army re-inforcements deployed to strengthen security in the area.
Meanwhile an employee of the power plant who was found unconscious at the site died last morning in hospital. Initial reports said he may have died of
shock as his body had only slight injuries.
According to the Defence Ministry two passenger aircraft scheduled to land at the Katunayake airport were diverted to the Chennai airport until the
situation was brought under control.
Police spokesman SSP Ranjith Gunasekara said security had been tightened in Kelanitissa, Colombo and its suburbs following Tuesday night’s LTTE air attack.
Meanwhile, a mother of two children residing in Hunupitiya, Wattala sustained injuries when a shell fired by the security forces during the LTTE aerial attack on the Kelanitissa Power Station struck her house. The mother was rushed to the Ragama Hospital with fractured legs.
Police said that victim had been asleep on a mat with her two children when the shell hit her house.
Meanwhile the TamilNet website said that Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) bombers were deployed over the Wanni to search for the LTTE aircraft after the air raid. According to TamilNet Air Force aircraft flew over the suburbs of Mullaitivu and Puthukkudiyiruppu with para lights focused on the ground.
TamilNet quoted civilian sources as saying the Tiger aircraft flew back to the Wanni over Mannar.
“Turbines will be repaired”: Min.
By Yohan Perera
Two turbines of the Kelanitissa power station were damaged in the LTTE air attack on Wednesday night, Power and Energy Minister John Seneviratne said yesterday adding that it would take at least six months to restore them. The Minister told journalists yesterday that the LTTE attempt to cut the power supply to Colombo city had failed.
“It is obvious that they targeted the Kelanitissa Station as it is the main establishment from where power is supplied to Colombo, to cut the supply to the city but they have failed in this exercise,” the Minister said.
He explained that the turbines which were damaged are not used regularly as they were contingency turbines which are used to generate power whenever the water levels in the reservoirs get reduced. They are also used to supply power when there is an increase in consumer demand during special occasions.
“Therefore the power station could still generate to its fullest capacity of 530 mw,” he said.
These turbines have the capacity to generate 165 MV of power through gas and steam.
Assuring that the damage is minor the Minister said assessing the financial loses would take some time as no survey was done to determine the physical damage. However according to the Minister the bombs had pierced through the concrete roof of the installation which is one foot in thickness
and had fallen on one turbine and on the cooler of the GT 7 turbine.
He said that timely action was taken to close the gas taps to prevent the gas from coming into the turbine and thereby a huge disaster was averted.
It was also stated that a new security system, together with the Air Force, would be introduced to counter any air attacks in the future.
CEB Security Consultant M. R. W. De Soyza said the anti-aircraft guns installed in the station started firing at the time of the attack but destroying the
aircraft was the responsibility of the Air Force. “We have the capacity to prevent a ground attack but intercepting aircraft has to be done by the Air Force,” he said
CEB Mechanical Officer K. Dharmaweera said the attack took place around 12 midnight just seconds after he reported for duty. “We were informed by
the security forces that an aircraft was its way and we switched off the lights and the anti-aircraft guns installed in the station started firing,” he said.
By Yohan Perera
Two turbines of the Kelanitissa power station were damaged in the LTTE air attack on Wednesday night, Power and Energy Minister John Seneviratne said yesterday adding that it would take at least six months to restore them. The Minister told journalists yesterday that the LTTE attempt to cut the power supply to Colombo city had failed.
“It is obvious that they targeted the Kelanitissa Station as it is the main establishment from where power is supplied to Colombo, to cut the supply to the city but they have failed in this exercise,” the Minister said.
He explained that the turbines which were damaged are not used regularly as they were contingency turbines which are used to generate power whenever the water levels in the reservoirs get reduced. They are also used to supply power when there is an increase in consumer demand during special occasions.
“Therefore the power station could still generate to its fullest capacity of 530 mw,” he said.
These turbines have the capacity to generate 165 MV of power through gas and steam.
Assuring that the damage is minor the Minister said assessing the financial loses would take some time as no survey was done to determine the physical damage. However according to the Minister the bombs had pierced through the concrete roof of the installation which is one foot in thickness
and had fallen on one turbine and on the cooler of the GT 7 turbine.
He said that timely action was taken to close the gas taps to prevent the gas from coming into the turbine and thereby a huge disaster was averted.
It was also stated that a new security system, together with the Air Force, would be introduced to counter any air attacks in the future.
CEB Security Consultant M. R. W. De Soyza said the anti-aircraft guns installed in the station started firing at the time of the attack but destroying the
aircraft was the responsibility of the Air Force. “We have the capacity to prevent a ground attack but intercepting aircraft has to be done by the Air Force,” he said
CEB Mechanical Officer K. Dharmaweera said the attack took place around 12 midnight just seconds after he reported for duty. “We were informed by
the security forces that an aircraft was its way and we switched off the lights and the anti-aircraft guns installed in the station started firing,” he said.
LTTE breaches Colombo security
B. Muralidhar Reddy
COLOMBO: An LTTE light-wing aircraft dropped two improvised bombs on the Kelanitissa power station, on the outskirts of Colombo, after dropping three
bombs on a military camp in Mannar district, on Tuesday night.
It is not clear if the same aircraft bombed both targets. Though the radar had detected the movement of the aircraft and the air defence system was
activated, the aircraft returned to its “base” in Wanni. Defence analysts are surprised as to how the LTTE aircraft managed to penetrate Colombo’s
airspace and managed to sneak back without being intercepted.
The appearance of aircraft led to panic in Colombo as anti-aircraft guns fired in the high security zone housing the harbour, Presidential Office and
several hotels. The confusion was confounded as the authorities switched off power for a couple of hours.
“The aircraft would have travelled at least 600 km both ways and remained in the air space for at least 80 minutes. It is a mystery as to how and why
the military failed to bring it down. It is a major security lapse at several levels,” a defence analyst told The Hindu.
A Defence Ministry statement maintained that the LTTE’s aerial raids caused “minor damages” to the power station. Nearly 75 per cent of the country’s
power distribution is handled by the Kelanitissa power plant.
Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) officials said a cooler connected to the gas turbine power generator caught fire and the fire was immediately
extinguished. A CEB employee, present on premises at the time of the raid, is believed to have died of heart attack.
The Defence Ministry said prior to the raid in Colombo’s vicinity at 10.20 pm, three bombs were dropped at the Thallady military camp in Mannar. “No
major damages were caused due to the explosions. A soldier sustained injuries in the incident,” said the Ministry.
An airport official at Katunayake said that two-passenger aircraft were diverted to Chennai until the situation was brought under control.
The English daily, Island, quoting an unnamed defence official, said the radar had detected the LTTE aircraft in Colombo but failed to zero in on it.
“There was some problem with ‘locking on’,” it quoted the official as saying.
The official said he suspected that the LTTE aircraft had been coated with some kind of paint to minimise its heat emission. Defence Secretary
Gotabhaya Rajapaksa told the paper that the Air Force was still searching for the LTTE planes.
Pro-LTTE TamilNet in a report on the raids claimed that two turbines and air coolers sustained damage when “Tamil Eelam Air Force (TAF)” attacked
the power plant.
“The air-strike was carried out on the target in Colombo, after attacking the Thallaadi Garrison of the Sri Lankan forces in Mannaar, inflicting heavy
damage to the Thallaadi base, which functions as the rear station for the Sri Lankan military operation on Wanni from the Mannaar front,” said the
website. “This time, the TAF bombers have carried out a long-range bombing mission, carrying out bombardments on two targets. The SLAF aircrafts
were using para-lights in their search mission over Wanni. Civilian sources said the Tiger aircrafts flew back to Wanni over Mannaar,” it added.
The LTTE made its first foray into the Sri Lankan skies in March 2007 when an aircraft bombed an Air Force base next to the international airport in
Colombo, killing three airmen and wounding 16. Since then, the LTTE has carried out seven aerial missions. On September 9 this year, an LTTE aircraft
bombed a military base in Vavuniya in coordination with a ground attack by “Black Tiger” suicide fighters. This attack left at least 25 dead.
After this attack, the Air Force claimed it had shot down the aircraft, but the LTTE denied the claim.
Five other attacks include an April 2007 attack that inflicted minor damage on Colombo’s oil storage facilities; another attack in April 2007 on a Jaffna
airbase, which killed six soldiers; October 2007 attack on an Anuradhapura airbase in which nine and wounded 20; an April 2008 raid on a military
forward operations base in Welioya; and an August 26 attack on a Navy base in Trincomalee, which wounded 10 sailors.
Separately, the military claimed Task Force-1 soldiers have gained control over another LTTE stronghold, Jeyapuram, located northeast of Nachchikuda
in Kilinochchi district, on Wednesday.
B. Muralidhar Reddy
COLOMBO: An LTTE light-wing aircraft dropped two improvised bombs on the Kelanitissa power station, on the outskirts of Colombo, after dropping three
bombs on a military camp in Mannar district, on Tuesday night.
It is not clear if the same aircraft bombed both targets. Though the radar had detected the movement of the aircraft and the air defence system was
activated, the aircraft returned to its “base” in Wanni. Defence analysts are surprised as to how the LTTE aircraft managed to penetrate Colombo’s
airspace and managed to sneak back without being intercepted.
The appearance of aircraft led to panic in Colombo as anti-aircraft guns fired in the high security zone housing the harbour, Presidential Office and
several hotels. The confusion was confounded as the authorities switched off power for a couple of hours.
“The aircraft would have travelled at least 600 km both ways and remained in the air space for at least 80 minutes. It is a mystery as to how and why
the military failed to bring it down. It is a major security lapse at several levels,” a defence analyst told The Hindu.
A Defence Ministry statement maintained that the LTTE’s aerial raids caused “minor damages” to the power station. Nearly 75 per cent of the country’s
power distribution is handled by the Kelanitissa power plant.
Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) officials said a cooler connected to the gas turbine power generator caught fire and the fire was immediately
extinguished. A CEB employee, present on premises at the time of the raid, is believed to have died of heart attack.
The Defence Ministry said prior to the raid in Colombo’s vicinity at 10.20 pm, three bombs were dropped at the Thallady military camp in Mannar. “No
major damages were caused due to the explosions. A soldier sustained injuries in the incident,” said the Ministry.
An airport official at Katunayake said that two-passenger aircraft were diverted to Chennai until the situation was brought under control.
The English daily, Island, quoting an unnamed defence official, said the radar had detected the LTTE aircraft in Colombo but failed to zero in on it.
“There was some problem with ‘locking on’,” it quoted the official as saying.
The official said he suspected that the LTTE aircraft had been coated with some kind of paint to minimise its heat emission. Defence Secretary
Gotabhaya Rajapaksa told the paper that the Air Force was still searching for the LTTE planes.
Pro-LTTE TamilNet in a report on the raids claimed that two turbines and air coolers sustained damage when “Tamil Eelam Air Force (TAF)” attacked
the power plant.
“The air-strike was carried out on the target in Colombo, after attacking the Thallaadi Garrison of the Sri Lankan forces in Mannaar, inflicting heavy
damage to the Thallaadi base, which functions as the rear station for the Sri Lankan military operation on Wanni from the Mannaar front,” said the
website. “This time, the TAF bombers have carried out a long-range bombing mission, carrying out bombardments on two targets. The SLAF aircrafts
were using para-lights in their search mission over Wanni. Civilian sources said the Tiger aircrafts flew back to Wanni over Mannaar,” it added.
The LTTE made its first foray into the Sri Lankan skies in March 2007 when an aircraft bombed an Air Force base next to the international airport in
Colombo, killing three airmen and wounding 16. Since then, the LTTE has carried out seven aerial missions. On September 9 this year, an LTTE aircraft
bombed a military base in Vavuniya in coordination with a ground attack by “Black Tiger” suicide fighters. This attack left at least 25 dead.
After this attack, the Air Force claimed it had shot down the aircraft, but the LTTE denied the claim.
Five other attacks include an April 2007 attack that inflicted minor damage on Colombo’s oil storage facilities; another attack in April 2007 on a Jaffna
airbase, which killed six soldiers; October 2007 attack on an Anuradhapura airbase in which nine and wounded 20; an April 2008 raid on a military
forward operations base in Welioya; and an August 26 attack on a Navy base in Trincomalee, which wounded 10 sailors.
Separately, the military claimed Task Force-1 soldiers have gained control over another LTTE stronghold, Jeyapuram, located northeast of Nachchikuda
in Kilinochchi district, on Wednesday.
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