LTTE claims hand in air strikes

Colombo, Feb 21: Sri Lankan Tamil Tiger rebels have claimed responsibility for the air raid over the capital Colombo that left at least two people dead and 50 injured on Friday, Feb 20. A pro-rebel Website said that the two-light wing aircraft were on a suicide mission.

Two men from the elite Black Air Tiger suicide squad of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) plotted the two light aircraft that carried out the attack on the headquarters of the Inland Revenue department in the heart of the capital, causing a huge explosion.

Sri Lankan Air Force facilities in the heart of the capital as well as the main airbase adjoining the country's only international airport were the main targets of Tigers.

Although the pro-LTTE Tamilnet.com said the attacks were 'successful', the defence authorities here said the guerrillas had clearly missed the intended targets because of the swift action of the air force and intense anti-aircraft fire from the troops on the ground.

"Why should they attack the Inland Revenue department building complex? They must have come for some other targets, but the successful anti-aircraft gunfire from the ground have failed their mission miserably once again," Military Spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said.

The dead Tiger pilot was carrying two cyanide capsules and a powerful bomb with his seat,' the statement said.

OneIndia News