Friday, November 23, 2007

AAB Attack : Did two black tigers return to Wanni?

On the 22nd of October, the LTTE raided the SLAF airbase at Anuradhapura causing heavy damages to at least 18 aircraft stationed in the base. Earlier, it was assumed that 21 black tigers participated in the attack and all of them were killed. However, latest investigations have revealed that the actual number of tigers that participated in the attack is more than 21. It is now believed that at least two black tigers who took part in the attack managed to escape to Wanni unharmed.

Even before formal investigations, there were rumors that more than 21 suicide cadres took part in the operation. This rumor was fueled by a group photograph published in pro rebel Tamilnet.com web site. The photograph showed a group of 21 tigers posing with LTTE leader Prabhakaran, before their mission. However the photograph appeared to be cropped and it was evident that there were more than 21 personnel present. Deepening the mystery further, Tamilnet published a photograph on the 1st of November, which showed a black tiger who apparently took part of the mission being honored by the LTTE leader. Although the claims based on these photographs were blatant speculation, latest investigations have revealed startling facts. Due to many reasons we cannot explicitly state what the latest findings are but we have reliably learnt that at least two black tigers who took part in the attack managed to return safely to Wanni. It is also suggested that as many as 27 cadres were deployed in the area that night (whether or not all of them entered the bases premises is not confirmed yet).

Meanwhile pro LTTE media have released a video which claims to contain footage of the AAB attack (in fact this was released few weeks ago). First part of the video contains footage of LTTE cadres training on what looks like a small runway. The last part which is shot in the night, contains what is claimed to be footage of the attack. The authenticity of this video has not been verified as of yet.

29 comments:

  1. Defencenet,
    My guess is that the people who escaped are the members of a video team. It looks like they have recorded the confrontation from a tree most probably from out side the base.

    "However the photograph appeared to be cropped and it was evident that there were more than 21 personnel present"

    The photograph was cropped from the side. If the escape happened in a random manner there is no way all the escapees gathered at one end of the photograph. So I believe they were intended to escape and most probably the video team.

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  2. It is estimated that 1,000Tamil people were killed, tens of thousands of houses were destroyed, and a wave of Sri Lankan Tamils left for other countries(July 23, 1983).

    Now it's the time for them to give back....So take it....

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  3. This is the case, our police is corrupt to the core... and many of the CDF also taken the same route.

    There is a big racket going on in Horowpathana, and Wilpattu, Kalpitiya where LTTE gets anything they want by bribing the 'organised' police and CDFs. The brokers are Muslim gangs. The goods come in trawlers to Kalpitiya, and from there with the help of Police and CDF, these go to LTTE taking jungle routes.

    Somebody needs to deploy some jungle ambush teams at night (no police or CDF), and LTTE men and the Muslim men who supply the goods can be caught - will say 4 of them per every 4 Square Km every night.

    You will see Canter trucks to vans and even motor-bikes enter the jungle at night without any lights on.

    So it is easy for an LTTE team to come and go as they wish.

    The CID HQ itself is corrupt, and the guy who issue Police Clearance reports issue that for money. What else can you say about a country?

    I have lot of respect for Mr. Prathapasinghe, and I believe that if he was given authority, he would clear all the maggots from our Police and CID.

    Also there was another great Police man who was in-charge of the Dematagoda Unsolved Crime Bureau (I have forgotten his name). He also a one hell of a man who can do anything under the sun when it comes to solving crimes. But this guy also has been sidelined by corrupt politicians who are linked to criminal elements.

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  4. Guru,

    Prabhakaran has killed more than 50,000 Tamils and has made more than million to leave the country.

    Another thousands have been left for 30 years to carry cyanide capsules.

    Well done for a leader who pretend to be a savior, but destroyed two generations of Tamils.

    WOW that is a big achievement and will say the biggest enemy of Tamils.

    But you need a brain to understand it.

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  5. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  6. According to defencewire we will acquire RM 70 122mm mobile rocket launchers soon. In one volley it can destroy 7.5 acres. This means that terrorists will have to do both eating and peeing (etc.) at the same place i.e. inside their bunkers. When you add the no bath situation can one imagine what it would be like?
    My only worry is that when our SF soldiers try to get these bunkers one of their hands always would be useless. Bec. they will have to keep their noses covered with that hand.

    So Mr. Guru, That’s what you are going to get.

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  7. Hemantha, we already have several rm 70s. But yes we are to get some more too

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  8. The reported disappearance of over 50 people within a short period of time is cause for concern.
    It is not acceptable to allow another tyranny to spring-up, in the guise of a struggle to eradicate terrorism of the tamil tiger kind.
    This is where a responsible opposition has to weigh in without the effort to guarantee human rights being used as a tool for their political advantage. Given the performances of the characters leading the opposition parties, sadly this seems only a remote possibility.

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  9. The campaign of shouting to India to 'do something' is both hilarious and irritating at the same time. They are doing a lot; all of it to covertly support the fight against the tigers. It was the Indians who wrote the death warrant for the LTTE leadership when they met with Condi Rice at the beginning of hostilities in 2006.
    But SL needs to understand the need to respect human rights in a verifiable way before this particular issue becomes too big a problem. I do see this becoming a great obstacle, even big enough to completely hinder the SLG in the "Final War" that Velu wanted so badly.

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  10. Tropicalstorm

    I agree with you 100%. Well said.

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  11. DefenceNet..when you have the time..Is there an LTTE attack on the navay base in mannar ..

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  12. According to lanka page there is a film about the "suffering" of the "tamil people" to be shown in Canada..I hope it shows child recruitment by the LTTE and also the suffering of the eastern tamils whose children have been converted to cannon fodder due to the LTTE.

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  13. http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20071123_05

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  14. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  15. Where have the SLAF Helicopters being when this gun battle happens?

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  16. guru, this aint the place for u,if you really fancy blogging go to nitharsanam .com,sethu need some people like you ,

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  17. Editorial
    -The Island

    "Banning the tail but not the animal

    Minister Anura Bandaranaike, having left the Rajapaksa Cabinet in a huff several moons ago, chose to call the government a ‘Carnival of Clowns’. He rejoined the same Carnival later on. However, one cannot but agree with him on his considered view of the government.

    Someone made a film called ‘Parliament Jokes’ which became quite popular. If a film is made on gaffes of the present government, the producer thereof could rest assured that it would be an instant hit. It may be called ‘Government Jokes’ or a better title will be ‘Present-day Kekilles’, Kekille being the name of a legendary bovine king. Here is a Kekille story:

    The government has banned the Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO), which is a notorious front of the LTTE, after years of vacillation. What prompted the government to do so was the US government’s recent decision to designate the TRO and freeze its assets. But, the Rajapaksa government is dilly-dallying on the question of reimposing the LTTE ban. How strange! It can fight the outfit but cannot ban it! On Thursday, Media Minister and Cabinet Spokesman Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, when asked at the weekly Cabinet press briefing whether the government would ban the LTTE, said it was closely watching the LTTE’s behavioiur. That is the biggest joke of the century, to say the least.

    King Kekille would spin in his grave, if he knew he was getting overtaken posthumously! Now let’s examine the ministerial skewed logic. The reason why the government has banned the TRO is its links with the LTTE. But, the government says it is still ‘watching the behaviour of the LTTE’ to ban it. If so, why on earth did it ban the TRO because of its links with the LTTE? One’s brain ceases to function, they say, when one sits on it!

    What is more preposterous is the Minister’s claim that the government is ‘watching the LTTE’s behaviour’. Is there any need for the government to watch the LTTE? It has been in existence for well over twenty five years and it is known the world over for its terrorism. It has also been banned in several countries. It had been proscribed in this country until 2002, when the UNF government lifted the ban under international pressure to start peace negotiations, which collapsed in the end. The LTTE has killed a President (Premadasa), an Opposition Leader (Gamini), Ministers (Ranjan, Kadir, CV et al), Service Commander (Clancy); massacred civilians (Gonagala, Kokilai, Eravur, Kebitigollewa etc.); bombed civilian targets (Pettah, Central Bank, Maradana, Ratmalana, Dehiwala etc.,); killed over 600 policemen (those who surrendered to it on the orders of President Premadasa, who tried to salvage a crumbling peace process at their expense); attacked the international airport twice; made an attempt on an incumbent President (CBK), a Defence Secretary (Gotabhaya), an Army Commander (Sarath Fonseka) and a large number of Ministers (Nimal Siripala, Douglas Devananda et al), abducted and killed children, men and women; recruited thousands of child soldiers; destroyed public property worth billions of rupees and killed thousands of security forces personnel and policemen.

    Should Minister Yapa be wasting his time watching the LTTE’s behaviour any longer?

    The actual reason why President Rajapaksa is doing a Prince of Denmark on the question of banning the LTTE is international pressure. The deproscription has become a fait accompli like the CFA, which he has had to live with. The chances of any government being able to negotiate a political solution with the LTTE are as remote as those of a cat’s survival in hell, but banning the LTTE at this juncture will be construed as an attempt to foreclose ‘peace talks’. So, the government is fighting the LTTE without banning it and the LTTE is waging war without withdrawing from the CFA.

    The position of the US and other countries on the LTTE ban is equally absurd. Having proscribed the outfit and frozen the assets of its front organisation, TRO, the US wants the Sri Lankan government to resume negotiations. Thus, we have a situation where the US and its allies are advocating negotiations with the LTTE which they have banned as a terrorist organisation and the Sri Lankan government is all out to defeat the outfit militarily without banning it. Who is fooling whom?

    There are two things that the government ought to do on the question of banning the LTTE. First of all, it should stop trying to hoodwink the discerning public by trotting out lame excuses and own up to the fact that it lacks the courage to re-ban the outfit. The people will appreciate its position, given the international pressure it has come under. Second, it must refer the issue of the ban to Parliament. After a debate, a vote should be taken so that the people will know who the real sympathizers of the LTTE are and the ban will be very democratic."

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  18. The Siege
    November 23, 2007: The government has banned one of the major suppliers of foreign relief, the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO). This organization was founded 22 years ago to assist Tamils fleeing the fighting in Sri Lanka. The TRO raises much of its cash from Sri Lankan Tamils who have settled in the West, but also receives aid money from Western countries and aid organizations. Recently, however, evidence has piled up that the TRO has passed on cash and goods to the LTTE. As a result, the U.S. has banned TRO fund raising, and other Western countries are following suit. This means less cash and goodies for the LTTE to distribute, which leads to fewer Tamils feeling beholden to the LTTE.


    In the north, the last LTTE controlled area on the island, is under regular attack by army commandos. Thousands of Tamils are fleeing LTTE controlled areas to get away from expected violence (when the army arrives). At sea, navy patrols are finding fewer LTTE boats operating. The LTTE fleet still exists, but in much smaller numbers than a year ago.



    The renewed fighting has left about 5,000 dead in the past two years, and nearly 20,000 casualties overall. The government has basically laid siege to the LTTE controlled territory in the north. There, the LTTE have a formidable force of several thousand experienced fighters, and many more Tamils conscripted into a militia force. The core LTTE fighters are dangerous, but they cannot cover the entire front. This makes it possible for the army to successfully attack LTTE bunkers held by less resolute fighters, and win. But if the LTTE first team shows up, the fighting is more intense. The LTTE has not been able to carry out a lot of commando and terrorist attacks outside their own territory, but they keep trying.



    The LTTE is still controlled by diehards who will not make peace for anything less than partition of the island. That has been rejected by the majority Sinhalese. At the same time, the Sinhalese population is growing tired of the years of violence, and the expense. The defense budget keeps going up, and every time the LTTE violence increases (like in the last two years) fewer tourists arrive, and there's a decline in foreign investment. The Sinhalese population may demand a major offensive to crush the LTTE. That could get very bloody.

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  19. To those who reside abroad - a special request:

    Take a look at the Colombo Stock Exchange at http://www.cse.lk/welcome.htm
    and motivate other fellow Sri Lankans also to invest in local companies even if it is to a modest extent. There is no restriction to repatriating sales proceeds and earnings and there is potential for some serious earnings over the long period with quite a few of the investments I see there. The market is growing in sophistication and the CSE is about to introduce Derivatives also as an investment instrument, which offers opportunities to make a killing in such a volatile market. You will be doing two things; using opportunities to enrich yourselves while helping your motherland progress faster. I cannot provide advice on investments to anyone, but what I see here got me really excited..

    I encourage all of you to spend a little time on that website, and also to take a little risk, starting with a small amount first at least.

    I understand this forum is not for Investment discussions, but everything that helps Sri Lanka will help her fight off her enemies too.

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  20. Annual groundhog day numbers are out. According to LTTE, 1135 cadres perished from last Nov 27th this Nov 26th. Amazing. I don't think LTTE can recruit that much because of low morale and less area under their control.

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  21. Blacker:

    I left a post for you in the earlier thread, rendering a heartfelt, remorseful, abject apology to you for my rather mis-scribing earlier.

    :-( :-( :-(

    OaO Asithri

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  22. Now this is what I call "respite at the end of a busy week in the rat-race!:

    [Associated Press Writer - COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - (AP) Sri Lanka - 's navy fought a sea battle with Tamil rebels off the northwestern coast Friday, killing 17 guerrillas who attempted to ambush a coastal police post, said the military]

    Outstanding work boyz! At the rate the maggots are being liquidated, has any entrepreneur thought of a venture such as ‘Terra Organic Fertilizer Inc.’….???

    OaO Asithri

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  23. Noltte=peace..my question also..what were the helicopters doing during this attack?...Probably the attack was a small one and the navy didnt need air support..provided of course the navy destroyed 99% of the LTTE boats.I am sick to death of reading this defnese.lk statement of "the other LTTE boats retreated"..what is the navy supposed to do waive the LTTE boats and injured cadres "goodbye?"..again provided of course the Navy ships dont come within the LTTE land guns..I just hope they are airbourne to support the army during their offensives.
    the KEY here:We need to either kill or capture as many LTTE cadres as possible..I wish they would surrender so we can put this LTTE "vyashanaya" behind us.

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  24. Hemantha,
    Thanks for bringing up the Island Editoria.. The Island Editor is someone who lives on this earth with some sense of reality. Many others are the other way around.

    TopicalStorm,
    I brought more than $5M investment to Sri Lanka in the past 4 years alone and that investment has provided employment for more than 150 people. But I am not a happy person how CSE is handled. It runs like any other government institution.. like their private grocery shop. The rules are always bent and favorism is wide-spread. Info leaks are taking place all the time. There is no stringent regulatory framework like mature countries have.

    The biggest example is how GoldQuest - the one that siphoned more than Rs 3B from the country has a free run in CSE -because of bribery and personal connections.

    The CSE is the best place for crooks and money launderers. I can remember few years back when these guys went to Singapore, they have been ashamed of the accusations they have heard from the potential 'good' investors - about money laundering and inside trading.

    There are many good companies trading in CSE, and if you would invest, pick your companies carefully. Work with a trusted broker.

    You have to open a SIERA account in a bank to perform investing.

    You know there is another loss in this SIERA Account business. To invest in SL, you need to bring money to the country through a SIERA account. This is a Rupee Account. As soon as you put money into the SIERA account, your money get converted into Rupees. From there onwards until you invest in Shares or any other instrument, your money depreciates. This is insane.

    In addition, if you would want to keep your money in a NRFC account, you have to remit monies to the SIERA Account, and then transfer back to a NRFC account. So, you lose money on conversion.

    These laws and policies have been made by idiots for idiots. Investors get frustrated about all the scenario around investment.

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  25. noltte=peace,

    If what you say is true about the CSE & BOI im havin we could find it very hard to get investors for a local defence industry... this is sad.

    We need defence sector investment, and we need to kick start a local capacity bulding soon. As you said if investors are not happy with SL Investment/Stock policies the road for a local defence industry could a long rugged one. :(

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  26. Nemesis,

    I am not discouraging investment in Sri Lanka at all. I want to point out the weaknesses that can be corrected, so that people would be more motivated.

    If the intervention of politicians are not there, Sri Lanka is a paradise for investment.

    Will take an example..
    Private Nursing College is a great investment area right now. Will say I would invest some monies to train 500 nursing students aimed at foreign job markets. You will need hospitals for these nursing students to practice. The first obstacle would come when you go to get the assurance from the government that Government Hospitals would provide the opportunity for these students to practice 'free of charge' to the government. If you would get the assurance, you would be 100% lucky. If you would get that assurance without needing to pay someone 10% of your investment, you would be 1000% lucky.

    Then you will find JVP and other interested party led resistant saying it affect the free education and training. Then the Cabinet would get together and ban your project. So, you would lose your time, money and energy.

    The world-over there is a huge skills shortage of trained nurses. Instead of sending house-maids to Middle East, you can send trained nurses to the West and earn foreign funds. But the local political environment does not allow that.

    The other great example is Harsha International. The ----------- (Asithri can fill some words here) who were at the previous Defence Ministry and Technical Evaluation Committee, gave unimaginable trouble to Harsha International when they tried to sell superior body armor to our forces. Thanks to some Middle East countries, STF and the UN, they survived. This is the dire situation in our country when you make investments.

    We are on a war for 25 years, and no single bullet is made in Sri Lanka. There is no national R&D unit focus on Military Innovations.

    Another simple example is Surgical Gause for Hospitals. Leaving many small industries in limbo, the Health Ministry has recently decided to import Gause for government hospitals. If there was any quality related issue, the Ministry should have laid down the quality standards and checked quality against independent testing labs and get them right together with the local industries. When an importer promise a bigger commission, the quality of existing ones suddenly goes down. Isn't that funny?

    That's why Sri Lanka needs to strengthen the regulatory framework and best practices from the government level. Take the politics out from the administration. Strengthen Corruption Investigation Unit, and make them report to non-political appointee i.e. a Judge. Without rectifying these basic framework issues, it is very difficult for 'genuine' investors to thrive. That means, everyday graduate protests in-front of Fort Railway Station.

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  27. Thank you, Asithri. Your apology is accepted. I know you can't help it :)

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  28. Fellas, have ya read the Sunday observer Sitrep. piece abt.ltte operatives surrendering in Jaffna to the HR Commission in Alarming numbers ? To Avoid been captured by the Security forces ! So far 100 plus are remanded but, some law prohibits SLP from digging into there past activities ? Defnet,

    what the heck is this mates ? Also,they are been moved beachside S. of Jaffna City ! Can someone dig this out ?

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