Photo: The burnt out remains of a Chinese built K-8 intermediate trainer aircraft on the tarmac of the Sri Lanka Air Force base at Anuradhapura afterMonday’s pre-dawn Tiger guerrilla attack.Upto 27 Black Tiger suicide cadres were able to go unchecked right to the aircraft hangar
Special Forces join Air Force to prevent the base being over-run
All but three of the 27 aircraft in the base destroyed or damaged
By Iqbal Athas
Special Forces join Air Force to prevent the base being over-run
All but three of the 27 aircraft in the base destroyed or damaged
By Iqbal Athas
(October, 28, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The burnt out remains of a Chinese built K-8 intermediate trainer aircraft on the tarmac of the Sri Lanka Air Force base at Anuradhapura afterMonday’s pre-dawn Tiger guerrilla attack.
The group of Tiger guerrillas, among them three women, wore crumpled camouflage uniforms. These, together with their short haircut, made them look like army soldiers. However, unlike the soldiers, there was still a difference. All of them wore black explosive laden "suicide" belts around their waist.
They held an assortment of weapons - Chinese built T-56 assault rifles, Russian made AK-47 Kalashnikovs, Czech automatic pistols, Light Anti-tank Weapons (LAW), Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPG) with launchers, Light Machine Guns (LMGs) Mark 82 Chinese made hand grenades, new Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) among them. They had walkie-talkies to talk to each other and satellite telephones to speak with their controllers in the Wanni. They carried mobile phones, maps, medical kits, chocolates and even a flag of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
The group lay in wait in an abandoned house in a plot of land, owned by a military officer. It is located alongside the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) base at Anuradhapura - a major platform for military operations against Tiger guerrillas in the North. The base lies south of the historic capital. It is centrally located to rush aircraft for casualty evacuation in the Northern theatre of conflict. It is also headquarters for the Maritime Surveillance Command, the nerve centre for monitoring the deep seas off Sri Lanka.
Read More
Post a Comment