LTTE artillery, air and commando attack devastates Vavuniya military headquarters

Tamil Tiger commandos, supported by artillery and airstrikes, devastated the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) and Sri Lanka Army (SLA) installations inside the Vanni Sri Lankan forces Headquarters on Tuesday.

The brazen attack, which lasted two hours, was initiated when three aircraft of the Tamileelam Air Force (TAF) dropped several bombs on the base in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

Thereafter Black Tiger commandos infiltrated the heavily defended headquarters, called in an artillery barrage from batteries hidden in the Vanni region to the north and then launched a ground attack.

An Indian-supplied and manned radar installation was destroyed at 3.05 am, and thereafter the base’s communication facility with its tower, engineering facility, anti-aircraft weapon and the ammunition store at the Sri Lankan base were completely destroyed, the LTTE said.

Two Indian personnel were wounded and airlifted to Colombo, reports said.

The Sri Lankan military however said the attack was foiled and said SLAF jets had pursued the LTTE aircraft and shot one down over the LTTE-held jungle areas of Mullaitivu district in the Vanni.

The LTTE said all Tamil aircraft returned safely to base.

Ten Black Tigers were killed in the attack, the LTTE said, adding twenty Sri Lankan security forces members were killed and many more critically injured.

There were at least 11 explosions that rocked the town and heavy exchange of gunfire was reported till 5:00 a.m.

The government said they had recovered the bodies of ten Tigers and that eleven of their men had been killed – ten soldiers and a policemen.

The government also said the radar, which reportedly monitors the coastal areas of the Northeast, was not damaged.

"Terrorists, intending to strike on the air force radar station continued to direct artillery rounds on the area, but radars and other vital stations escaped unaffected and remained intact," the Army said in a statement.

However, in parliament Tuesday, the main opposition United National Party said the radar had been completely destroyed and that fourteen soldier and several policemen had been killed.

Reports said 15 soldiers, nine police and seven air force personnel with injuries were taken to civil hospitals and nine of them were admitted to Vavuniyaa hospital.

One civilian, a girl, was wounded and rushed to hospital, medical sources in the town told TamilNet.

Two Indian radar operators were earlier airlifted to Colombo and at least one was taken to India, press report said. However, the Indian High Commission in Colombo was quoted by press reports as saying the two were not seriously injured.

The Sri Lankan military, which has been embarrassed by Tamileelam Air Force (TAF) raids in the north, south and east of the island over the past two years, claimed it had shot down one Tiger plan with an air-to-air missile.

Squadron Leader Sanjaya Adhikari, who coordinated the government air strike, told reporters that fighter pilots had confirmed hitting the Tiger plane but that no video footage was available.

"The (LTTE) aircraft has been shot down in the Mullaittivu skies while running away following a failed mission," the defence ministry said, referring to the district where Tigers operate air fields.

TamilNet quoted sources in Colombo as saying that there were also a few Indian Air Force (IAF) personnel at the base, which serves as the Sri Lankan military HQ for Vanni operations. The sources further alleged that there were also military experts from another country outside South Asia, who used to train the Sri Lanka Army Special Forces (SF) at the base.

In retaliation for the attack, Sri SLAF bombers and surveillance aircrafts stepped up flying missions over Kilinochchi and Mullaiththeevu districts from 4:00 a.m. and attacked two localities.

The first SLAF attack was reported in Puthukkudiyiruppu, three times, between 4:20 and 5:10 a.m. The attack had taken place in densely populated area and the premises of a school, Puthukkudiyiruppu Subramaniya Viththiyaalayam, was among the target, according to initial reports from Puthukkudiyiruppu.

A 50-year-old woman, identified as Ms. Sulojana, was wounded. Shops in the town have also sustained damage in the SLAF attack.

At 6:40 a.m., a locality in Poonakari (Pooneryn) was bombed by the SLAF bombers. Casualty details were not available.