Sea Tigers sink military supply ship

Sea Tigers, the sea faring arm of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) attacked two supply ships belonging to Sri Lanka inside high security zone, near a naval harbour in northern Jaffna peninsula, sinking one ship and heavily damaging the other.

Sri Lankan ships MV Nimalawa and MV Ruhunuwa which transport military and other supplies from south to Jaffna came under a predawn Black Tiger attack on Wednesday, October 22, in the seas off Kankeasnthurai harbour.

The Sea Tiger mission was led by Black Sea Tiger Lt. Col. Ilakkiyaa, the deputy commander of the Sea Tigers' female wing, who sacrificed her life with Black Sea Tiger Commando Lt. Col. Kuperan, LTTE officials told TamilNet.

The Sea Tigers also fought a sea battle with naval units defending the port of Kankesanthurai.

Shells launched from the seas off Vadamaraadchi during the clashes following the attack on ships, exploded near a civilian dwelling in Mallaakam seriously injuring a couple, according to the same sources.

"One of the merchant vessels -- MV Nimalawa -- is sinking and the other vessel was damaged," a defence official who declined to be named told AFP following the attack.

According to Sri Lankan newspaper, Sunday times, the intelligence authorities concerned with how the Sea Tigers managed to infiltrate the naval cordon to reach Kankesanthurai, a key point in the high security zone in the sea.

"The fact that they succeeded in infiltrating a high security zone in the seas, moving freely for a long distance to carry out an attack, is very worrying. It only underscores the need for further measures to make the HSZ (High Security Zone) foolproof," the paper said quoting an intelligence source.

Jaffna is controlled by government forces, but cut off from the rest of the island by LTTE-held territory and supplied entirely by sea or air.

The defence ministry painted the attack as "another cowardly attempt by the terrorists to deny essential supplies to the civilians living in war-affected areas."

However, observers pointed out Sri Lanka’s practice of using civilian cargo ships to supply arms to the 40,000 military personnel occupying Jaffna.

Activities of Kaangkeasanthurai harbour came to a halt on Wednesday following the early morning Sea Tiger attack, sources in Vadamaraadchi said.

Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) jointly searched villages east and west of Kaangkeasanthurai harbour, and fishing boats in the seas off the same coastline, sources added.