According to Sri Lanka’s Defence Ministry, LTTE fighters in Puthukudiyiruppu (PTK) fired surface-to-air-missiles (SAM) at two Sri Lankan Air Force helicopters on Wednesday March 25, raising questions about LTTE’s weapons capability.
Sri Lanka’s Sunday Times, reporting on the attack stated: “Troops fought bitter battles with guerrillas in the general area of Puthukudiyiruppu. Air Force helicopters that rushed in to evacuate casualties were fired upon. Within seconds, the onboard Self Protection System (SPS) activated and prevented any damage. It soon transpired that the [LTTE] had used Surface to Air Missiles (SAM) though the exact version is yet to be established.”
Sri Lanka’s Sunday Times, reporting on the attack stated: “Troops fought bitter battles with guerrillas in the general area of Puthukudiyiruppu. Air Force helicopters that rushed in to evacuate casualties were fired upon. Within seconds, the onboard Self Protection System (SPS) activated and prevented any damage. It soon transpired that the [LTTE] had used Surface to Air Missiles (SAM) though the exact version is yet to be established.”
“The news, needless to say, has shocked Colombo's intelligence community. Since the military crackdown against [LTTE] by the Mahinda Rajapaksa administration since 2007, there has been no known instance of missiles being used on aircraft. So much so, it made them believe that they no longer possessed it. Confirming this were other factors like continuous air raids on [LTTE] positions in the past several months had only drawn 23 mm, 50 mm, machine gun and rifle fire. Moreover, there had also been reports that [LTTE] attempts to procure SAMs from black market channels had failed in Eastern Europe and South East Asia.” the newspaper further reported.
“Now, the question is being raised whether the SAMs used for this week's attack on Bell 212s were smuggled in recently. This is on the basis that if the [LTTE] possessed it before, they could have put them to use. A less likely argument put out by some sections of the intelligence community is that the [LTTE] had them but waited till the urgent need arose to use them. Both the defence and the security establishment are busy seeking answers to these questions and many others.” Sunday Times added.
