SL military denies LTTE's claim of shooting war jet

Colombo, July 13: Sri Lankan military has denied outright the claim by the Tamil Tiger rebels that they have shot down an Israeli-built Kfir supersonic ground attack jet while flying over the rebel-held northern Wanni region.

We totally deny it. It is a false propaganda exercise by the LTTE. They just want to cover up their Thoppigala defeat, military spokesman, Brig. Prasad Samarasinghe said last night.

''None of our planes were shot down or crashed. It is totally false and baseless,'' Brig Samarasinghe added.

Earlier in the day, LTTE's military spokesman, Rasaiah Ilanthiraiyan claimed that a Sri Lanka Air Force Kfir bomber was damaged yesterday afternoon when their anti-aircraft cannon fired at it over Vavuniya Forward Defence Line (FDL).

He has also claimed that the bomber was damaged in the cannon fire by the Tigers and parts of the damaged aircraft fell inside the Tiger-held territory.

Sri Lankan government yesterday hailed the capture of Thoppigala, the last LTTE stronghold in the thick jungles of the Eastern Batticaloa district, as a historical achievement by the military in the past two decades.

The capture of Thoppigala, which marked the complete liberation of the Eastern province is a historical achievement, Cabinet spokesman and Media Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa said, adding that nobody should belittle this great victory achieved by the forces under the correct leadership from the Commander-in Chief, President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

''We have liberated the East so that the people could be free from the clutches of the LTTE. We will now concentrate on developing the east and holding elections so that the eastern people also could elect their representatives for democratic institutions freely,'' minister Yapa said.

Conceding for the first time that the military has gained control of vast territory of their former strongholds in the Eastern province, the Tamil Tiger rebels have said that they would now adopt the unconventional guerilla tactics in the East region.

UNI

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