A large number of Sea Tiger vessels completed an unspecified mission Sunday (Sep 24) night, despite a five hour battle with the Sri Lanka navy (SLN) in which three LTTE cadres were killed.
Liberation Tigers Military Spokesman Irasaiah Ilanthirayan, confirming fierce fighting between 25 boats of a Sea Tiger squadron and more than 20 SLN gunboats in the seas off Pulmoddai, dismissed the SLN claims that it had inflicted "heavy casualties" on the LTTE.
A reinforced patrol of 25 Sea Tigers boats put to sea that Sunday night at about 10pm to undertake a key mission off the island's eastern coast Mr. Ilanthirayan said.
"Heavy fighting ensued in the seas for 5 hours," he said.
More than 20 Sri Lankan naval vessels had intercepted the Sea Tiger vessels of equal strength, according to the military spokesman of the Tigers.
Two Sri Lankan vessels were damaged in the clash, he said. A Dvora Fast Attack Craft (FAC) was heavily damaged, according to Ilanthirayan.
Despite international peace efforts, the Sri Lankan militarary was seeking to provoke confrontations, he said.
"Our squadrons will continue patrols as usual," he said.
Earlier, the Sri Lanka Navy had claimed to have sunk 11 Sea Tigers boats and forced the 14 others to withdraw.
"It is believed more than 70 Sea Tigers were killed and many were injured," the Sri Lankan defence ministry said.
A week earlier, on Sep 17, the Navy sank a small vessel which it said was carrying arms for the LTTE.
An SLN spokesman said the 35m vessel was destroyed during an eight-hour battle near Kanthale after its crew refused to stop to allow the vessel to be searched.
The Navy said the ship had been intercepted about two-hundred kilometres off the east coast of Sri Lanka.
The navy claimed the vessel, the length of two gunboats was carring 150 tonnes of artillery and missiles. But it did not say how it came to know the cargo of the vessel, shown in a navy video to be traveling at high speed.
