Liberation Tigers attack Anuradhapura air base

22 October 2007
[see also Katunayake Military Airbase
Bombed by LTTE Air Wing, 25 March 2007 ]

"..We are not chauvinists. Neither are we lovers of violence enchanted with war. We recognise the Sinhala nation. We accord a place of dignity  for the culture and heritage of the Sinhala people. We have no desire to interfere in any way with the national life of the Sinhala people or with their freedom and independence. We, the Tamil people, desire to live in our own historic homeland as an independent nation, in peace, in freedom and with dignity." - Velupilllai Pirabaharan, Leader of Tamil Eelam

LTTE's Anuradhapura Raid: Bravery & Precision -  B. Raman, South Asia Analysis Group, New Delhi, 23 October 2007

" Reliable details of the combined air and land attack launched by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on the Anuradhapura air base of the Sri Lankan Air Force early in the morning of October 22, 2007, indicate that it was neither an act of desperation as projected by the embarrassed Sri Lankan military spokesmen nor an act of needless dramatics as suggested by others. It was an act of unbelievable determination, bravery and precision successfully carried out by a 21-member suicide commando group of the Black Tigers---significantly led by a Tamil from the Eastern Province--- with the back-up support of two planes of the so-called Tamil Eelam Air Force."

Ram! O Ram! - The Chennai based Hindu shows its hand, yet again in its editorial titled "LTTE attack in military context", 24 October 2007

"..Pushed into the Vanni jungles and denied vital supplies as a result of a relentless year-long campaign by the Sri Lankan military, a desperate LTTE has scored a hit of modest military significance..."

TamilNet Report, 22 October 2007

LTTE releases names of Black Tigers in airbase raid

Flying Tigers' fox Lankans - P.K.Balachandran in Hindustan Times

"The fledgling air arm of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) comprising two to five single engine, propeller driven Zlin-143s, is up against Sri Lanka's formidable air  force comprising MIG-27 and Kfir fighter bombers, K-8 jet trainers, MI-24 helicopter gun ships, Bell-212s choppers, and Antonov troop and material carriers. And yet, the Lankan Goliath has been unable to tame the Tamil David, who has hit and run with impunity four times since March 26 this year... It is also feared that the government has gone in for US$ 500 million five year sovereign bond issue at a whopping 8.25% interest to finance the rising defense expenditure. Therefore, the Flying Tigers may well be contributing to the parlous state of Sri Lanka's finances."

Sri Lanka aircraft could not take off from damaged airport to intercept LTTE air craft - Sri Lanka State Controlled Daily News, 23 October 2007

Sri Lanka orders shake up of military command and puts naked corpses of Tamil rebels on  public display - AFP Report, 23 October 2007

"In Anuradhapura, the authorities put the naked rebel corpses on public display on Tuesday, residents said. Two farm tractors pulled around trailers loaded with the dead. "The tractors stopped outside the hospital where there was a large gathering of people," one journalist said. "People took pictures while others were even filming.""

"Sri Lanka military abuse conventions on the treatment of war dead" - Reuter Report, 24 October 2007

The Exhibitionism of Necrophilia: The Subhuman in the Sinhala-Buddhist Psyche - Giuseppe. C. Luciani, 24 October 2007

Sinhala Opposition UNP says 18 aircraft worth more than 439 million dollars damaged in Anuradhapura attack -  Sinhala owned Sri Lanka Daily Mirror, 23 October 2007

Tamil Tiger suicide squad in audacious strike -  Peter Foster, South Asia Correspondent, London Daily Telegraph, 23 October 2007

"Tamil Tiger rebels staged a spectacular pre-dawn raid on a Sri Lankan air force base on Monday, using light aircraft and suicide-bombers to destroy military planes and equipment worth more than £20 million....

The military said that nine Sri Lankan troops and 20 Tiger guerrillas had been killed in the attack... However the military routinely plays down the scale of Tiger attacks and well-placed sources in Colombo said the damage was on a far greater scale than had admitted. Among the planes allegedly damaged or destroyed was a Beechcraft surveillance plane worth £14 million, two Mi17 helicopters, two Mi24 helicopters, three unmanned aerial vehicles, a K-8 jet and eight PD6 propeller trainer aircraft. "

  Rebel suicide squad, planes smash Sri Lanka air base - AFP

"An elite Tamil Tiger suicide squad Monday attacked a key Sri Lankan military base in an unprecedented ground and air assault, leaving at least 34 dead on both sides....Military sources said 13 servicemen, including two pilots, were killed and 22 others wounded in the assault, which is seen as the worst against the airforce since the July 2001 attack that destroyed over a dozen fighter planes....Military sources said the bigger loss for the security forces apart from the fatalities was the destruction of a Beechcraft aircraft fitted with advanced electronic spy devices. Three other smaller spy planes were also believed to have been damaged. The attack was the first Tiger aerial strike since they attacked oil installations in the capital on April 28..."

Sri Lanka Tiger rebel planes bomb air force base - Reuters

" Five servicemen were killed inside the base and 22 others were wounded in the attack, while four crew aboard a helicopter gunship, scrambled to search the area, were killed when it crash-landed several kilometres away, the military said..."

Tamil Tiger rebels launch deadly land and air attack on Sri Lankan air base - CNN

"The attack at the air base at Anuradhapura began at 3:10 a.m. with rebels infiltrating the base in the country's north central province. Residents in the area, who spoke by telephone, said they heard loud explosions and heavy gunfire. Shortly after the ground attack began, a rebel aircraft bombed the base, the sources added."

LTTE bombs Lanka Air Force base, 4 killed - Sify

"A group of LTTE rebels infiltrated the Anuradhapura SLAF Base and launched the initial attack around 3.20 am local time. A few minutes later at least two LTTE light aircrafts bombed the base, destroying two MI-24 helicopters, military spokesman Brig Udaya Nanayakkara told UNI over the phone."

Sri Lankan Tamil Rebels Raid Airbase North of Colombo - Bloomberg

"..Lankan Tamil rebels used aircraft and ground forces to attack an air force base north of the capital, Colombo, early today, killing five servicemen and injuring 22, the military said...The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam began a ground assault on the base at Anuradhapura at about 3 a.m. Sri Lankan time and dropped two bombs, the army said. ``Clearing is going on'' at the site, said Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara, a military spokesman."

சிறிலங்கா வான்படைத் தளம் மீதான தாக்குதலில் 8 வானூர்திகள் முற்றாக தாக்கியழிப்பு: விடுதலைப் புலிகள்

Tributes to Black Tigers at Puthukkudiyiruppu, 25 October 2007

Tigers ruin Lankan military plans say observers AFP, Colombo, 26 October 2007

Tamil Tiger rebels have dealt a serious blow to Sri Lanka's intelligence gathering capabilities with a devastating suicide attack that destroyed its entire fleet of spy planes, observers said yesterday. Tiger guerrillas, who were widely regarded as being on the defensive, turned the tables Monday with a suicide strike that eliminated the fleet of surveillance aircraft, which included four Israeli-made drones. Sri Lanka's air force, after initially denying that any damage was caused to their multi-million-dollar spy fleet, admitted that it lost eight aircraft, including a twin-turbo prop Beechcraft surveillance plane. The aircraft had been the secret behind the military's success in attacking a fleet of Tamil Tiger boats and gun-running ships, military sources said.

Who's writing the script of the war? - J.S. Tissainayagam, 28 October 2007

"...by compelling the security forces to look to strengthening their defence capabilities for resisting further attacks rather than going on the offensive in the Wanni, the Tigers have forced the government to respond to a plan they have scripted, rather than advance the programme the government would wish implemented..." more

LTTE  had 'inside information' for raid on spy plane base, AFP and AP, Colombo, 29 October 2007

---

Comment by tamilnation.org  It will be understandable if  New Delhi (and Mr.Raman) found the discomfiture of Pakistan, China and Israel not entirely unwelcome. See also International Dimensions of the Conflict in Sri Lanka - Nadesan Satyendra - “The balance of power in the Indian Ocean region is not a simple black and white matter. And it is not static. The frame is multilateral and the interactions are nuanced – and calibrated...  The record shows that Sinhala Sri Lanka seeks to engage in a 'balance of power' exercise of its own by handing over parts of the island (and the surrounding seas) to India, US and China."

9. The helicopters destroyed by the Black Tigers were being used as helicopter gun ships or for VIP transport. While the damage sustained by the SLAF is considerable in money terms and reduces its capability for intelligence collection for air and naval operations, its impact on the SLAF's capability for air strikes over the LTTE controlled areas would be limited.

10. The successful operation would seem to have been launched by the LTTE in retaliation for the recent operations of the Sri Lankan Navy against the transport ships of the LTTE and the air strikes of the SLAF over LTTE positions in the Northern Province. It once again underlines the LTTE's reputation as an organisation with a tremendous tenacity of purpose, grit and sophistication in thinking and planning. Its recent set-backs have not weakened its morale. They have only redoubled its determination to keep fighting for its political objective unmindful of the losses in the Eastern Province.

[see also The ‘Death’ and ‘Rebirth’ of Prabhakaran - S.Sivanayagam 5 December 2002;  Where is Prabakaran? - Hindu Editorial, 11 January 2005; Pirabhakaran Mystery; a Response to the Hindu Editorial - Sachi Sri Kantha, 12 January 2005; A Low-Down on Narasimhan Ram - Sachi Sri Kantha, 9 December 2005; and What Narasimhan Ram Should Understand - Sachi Sri Kantha 11 July 2006]

Pushed into the Vanni jungles and denied vital supplies as a result of a relentless year-long campaign by the Sri Lankan military, a desperate LTTE has scored a hit of modest military significance.

Comment by tamilnation.org  'An act of desperation?' - The Hindu is presumably not a Sri Lankan military spokesmen but it appears that it is as embarrassed as the Sri Lanka military at the LTTE attack on the Anuradhapura air base. "Reliable details of the combined air and land attack launched by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on the Anuradhapura air base ... indicate that it was neither an act of desperation as projected by the embarrassed Sri Lankan military spokesmen nor an act of needless dramatics as suggested by others...It was an act of unbelievable determination, bravery and precision successfully carried out by a 21-member suicide commando group of the Black Tigers -significantly led by a Tamil from the Eastern Province - with the back-up support of two planes of the so-called Tamil Eelam Air Force." LTTE's Anuradhapura Raid: Bravery & Precision -  B. Raman, South Asia Analysis Group, New Delhi, 23 October 2007

The October 22 pre-dawn ground-and-air attack on the Anuradhapura air base in the North Central Province, leaving four military helicopters destroyed and 14 soldiers dead, was in reality a suicide operation by an organisation on the run.

Comment by tamilnation.org  'An organisation on the run?' "..Military sources said 13 servicemen, including two pilots, were killed and 22 others wounded in the assault, which is seen as the worst against the airforce since the July 2001 attack that destroyed over a dozen fighter planes....Military sources said the bigger loss for the security forces apart from the fatalities was the destruction of a Beechcraft aircraft fitted with advanced electronic spy devices. Three other smaller spy planes were also believed to have been damaged." Rebel suicide squad, planes smash Sri Lanka air base - AFP

"....the military routinely plays down the scale of Tiger attacks and well-placed sources in Colombo said the damage was on a far greater scale than had admitted. Among the planes allegedly damaged or destroyed was a Beechcraft surveillance plane worth £14 million, two Mi17 helicopters, two Mi24 helicopters, three unmanned aerial vehicles, a K-8 jet and eight PD6 propeller trainer aircraft. " Tamil Tiger suicide squad in audacious strike -  Peter Foster, South Asia Correspondent, London Daily Telegraph, 23 October 2007

The modus operandi is typical of the LTTE. A 21-member suicide squad, in two formations, was let loose on the air base, wrecking everything in sight. Two light aircraft of the nascent ‘Tiger Air Force,’ which surfaced 70 minutes after the suicide offensive, appear to be of mere symbolic significance.

Comment by tamilnation.org  'Symbolic significance' - but what does it symbolise? "The successful operation... once again underlines the LTTE's reputation as an organisation with a tremendous tenacity of purpose, grit and sophistication in thinking and planning. Its recent set-backs have not weakened its morale. They have only redoubled its determination to keep fighting for its political objective unmindful of the losses in the Eastern Province." LTTE's Anuradhapura Raid: Bravery & Precision -  B. Raman, South Asia Analysis Group, New Delhi, 23 October 2007

It was the fifth aerial foray since the Tigers made their debut in the skies in March 2007 targeting the air base near the only international airport of the country at Katunayaka; and the first after the Sri Lanka government put in place a revamped air defence system. By demonstrating its ‘air power,’ in the melee of the suicide attack at Anuradhapura, the LTTE hopes to bolster the sagging morale of its cadres.

Comment by tamilnation.org  "..reports...indicate that the Black Tigers initially infiltrated the base and took control of it and that it was then that the air raid was launched more to test the capability for co-ordination between the air wing and the Black Tigers than to cause damage to the base. Since the Black Tigers were already in effective control of the base, they did not need any air support." LTTE's Anuradhapura Raid: Bravery & Precision -  B. Raman, South Asia Analysis Group, New Delhi, 23 October 2007

Militarily and politically, the LTTE has been in dire need of an Anuradhapura-type attack — as in the last several months it has taken a severe beating from the Sri Lankan armed forces.

Comment by tamilnation.org  Severe beating? "...the Lankan Goliath has been unable to tame the Tamil David, who has hit and run with impunity four times since March 26 this year... It is also feared that the government has gone in for US$ 500 million five year sovereign bond issue at a whopping 8.25% interest to finance the rising defense expenditure. Therefore, the Flying Tigers may well be contributing to the parlous state of Sri Lanka's finances." Flying Tigers' fox Lankans - P.K.Balachandran in Hindustan Times

Since its ouster from the east in August, the terrorist organisation has failed to conduct any military operation of significance notwithstanding the fissures within the Karuna group and general unrest in the east. Contrary to predictions from several quarters, Colombo has been safe.

According to the Sri Lankan Navy, the LTTE has lost all of its ten ships, ferrying supplies from various clandestine sources, in one-sided sea battles. Eight of these losses were in 2007 and the other two ships were sunk in Indonesian waters. According to informed estimates, which are not contested by the LTTE, 200 of its cadres were killed in the past one month. For the first time in years, the Sri Lankan army made territorial gains in the north by capturing a Tiger base in Mannar.

Comment by tamilnation.org  That the Hindu is concerned to prop up Sinhala Sri Lanka's rule of the people of Tamil Eelam may be understandable - understandable, that is, in the context of the support that the Hindi has given during the past several decades to perpetuate alien Sinhala rule of the people of Tamil Eelam, in the same way as in the 1930s, the Hindu gave its support for alien British rule of India. But the Hindu may also want to pay heed to the words of Mahatma Gandhi in Transvaal more than a hundred years ago "..If someone asks me when and how the struggle may end, I may say that, if the entire community manfully stands the test, the end will be near. If many of us fall back under storm and stress, the struggle will be prolonged. But I can boldly declare, and with certainty, that so long as there is even a handful of men  true to their pledge, there can only be one end to the struggle, and that is victory..."

However, the armed forces face a few troubling questions. The new radar detected the intruding aircraft, yet they were able to operate in the air space for at least 30 minutes and return to their base. And what explains the failure of the armed forces to detect the infiltration of a large suicide squad right into the compound of a vital air base? The LTTE operation shows up continuing weaknesses in Sri Lanka’s intelligence machinery and in the capability of the armed forces to secure the air space even against sub-military threats.

Comment by tamilnation.org  The really troubling question that the Hindu and the Sri Lanka military may want to confront is the moral legitimacy of the continued attempt by an alien Sinhala majority to impose their rule on  the people of Tamil Eelam. All else is secondary.

LiberationTigers launch combined air, ground attack
on Anuradhapura air base - 8 SLAF aircraft destroyed - Tamil Net Report, 22 October 2007

Twenty-one elite Black Tiger commandos penetrated into the heart of the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) air base in Anuradhapura at 3:20 a.m. Monday and destroyed and set ablaze eight SLAF aircrafts, including helicopter gunships, reconnaissance aircraft and a training aircraft, Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) military spokesman Irasiah Ilanthirayan told TamilNet.

The military base in Anuradhapura is the largest military installation in the military supply route between Colombo and Vavunniyaa. It is situated in the North Central Province, 46 km south of Vavuniyaa and 168 km northeast of Colombo.

Air Tiger aircrafts joined the attack at 4:30 a.m., providing support fire in the destruction of the SLAF base and safely returned to their bases in Vanni, the Tigers said. Sri Lankan military has sustained heavy losses in the attack, according to the Tigers. At 5 a.m. (GMT) Black Tigers were still in control of the main complex. Continuous explosions were heard inside the airbase from 3:30 a.m. according to Sinhala civilians in the area. The attack was continuing, after 5:00 a.m.

The Tigers, in their first combined air and ground attack have targeted the largest military installation in the Main Supply Route between Colombo and Vavunniyaa, at Saliyapura in Anuradhapura, in the early hours of Monday.

Helicopters including two MI-24 gunships, one MI-17, one PT6, one Bell 212, a CTH 748, and a reconnaissance aircraft were destroyed in the attack, according to the Tigers. In addition, a Bell helicopter has crashed with its 4-member crew.

Destroyed Bell Helicopter

"The Sri Lanka Air Force has sustained heavy losses", Mr. Ilanthirayan said. AFP quoted military sources as saying the bigger loss for the Sri Lankan forces apart from the fatalities was the destruction of a Beechcraft aircraft fitted with advanced electronic spy devices.

Beechcraft  - 40 million US$	MI-24 - 5 million US$
BELL 212 - 550 thousand US$	MI-17 - 5 million US$
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle - One million US$	KT8 Advanced Jet Trainer - 3.5 million US$
PT6 Trainer - 350 thousand US$	Cessna Trainer - 150 thousand US$

The LTTE has released photos of the 21-member Black Tiger attack team that included female Black Tigers and the photos of the Air Tiger personnel who took part in the attack. The photos were taken when LTTE leader V. Pirapaharan sent the commandos on their mission, the Tigers said. [LTTE releases names of Black Tigers in Air Base raid]

21-member Black Tiger elite commandos with LTTE leader V. Pirapaharan, before embarking on their mission towards Anuradhapura [Photo: LTTE]

Sri Lankan military sources remained tight-lipped over the details of the destruction, but said two Russian built MI-24 air crafts had sustained damages when the Tigers dropped "two aerial shells" from their aircraft and a pilot, his co-pilot and two engineers who took off from the air base, were killed when their Bell 212 helicopter crashed at Doramadalawa, 13 km east of Anuradhapura, in Mihintale area.  13 SLAF airmen were killed, 9 inside the base and four in the helicopter crash, and 18 wounded in the attack, according to Sri Lankan military spokesman Keheliya Rambukwela.

Sri Lankan police urged all residents to stay indoors as the Sri Lankan military prepared to launch a search operation in the area after imposing an indefinite curfew in Anuradhapura District Secretariat division.

14 wounded Sri Lankan military personnel have been admitted at the Anuradhapura hospital, according to medical sources.

Meanwhile, a SLAF reconnaissance aircraft was observed circling over K'linochchi. Three Kfir fighter jets of the SLAF were also flown over Vanni around 5:00 a.m.

"...நான் உயிருக்குயிராக நேசித்த தோழர்கள்,.. நான் பல்லாண்டு காலமாக வளர்த்தெடுத்த போரளிகள் களத்தில் வீழும் போதெல்லாம் எனது இதயம் வெடிக்கும். ஆயினும் சோகத்தால் நான் சோர்ந்து போவதில்லை. இந்த இழப்புக்கள் எனது இலட்சிய உறுதிக்கு மேலும் உரமூட்டியிருக்கின்றன." Velupillai Pirabakaran

Liberation Tigers Monday night released the details of Black Tiger commandos who took part in the raid on Anuradhapura air base. Two Lieutenant Colonels, six Majors, 12 Captains and one Lieutenant rank Black Tiger members have taken part in the operation. A Lieutenant Colonel who led an attack team was from Trincomalee, two of the members, a Major and a Captain were from Batticaloa, one from Mullaiththeevu, one from Mannaar, three from Ki'linochchi and eleven members from Jaffna which has been under the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) control since 1995. Three Captains were female Black Tigers.

21-member Black Tiger elite commandos with LTTE leader V. Pirapaharan, before embarking on their mission towards Anuradhapura

The Tigers released the names of the commandos who took part in the biggest Black Tiger operation:

Lt. Col. Veeman (K. Pratheepan) from Trincomalee
Lt. Col. Ilangko (R. Paheerathan) from Jaffna
Major Mathivathanan (B. Thayaaseelan) from Jaffna
Captain Tharmini (K. Nirmala) from Ki'linochchi
Captain Puradchi (S. Thanushan) from Jaffna
Major Supan (K. Jeevakanthan) from Jaffna
Major Ilampuli (T. Kalairaj) from Jaffna
Major Kaavalan (S. Saththiyan) from Ki'linochchi
Captain Karuveanthan (M. Satheeskumaar) from Ki'linochchi
Captain Pukazhmani (T. Puvaneasvaran) from Jaffna
Captain Eezhaththeavan (T. Moasikaran) from Jaffna
Major Ezhilinpan (V. Pirapaharan) from Jaffna
Captain Pulimannan (K. Nanthakumar) from Jaffna
Captain Anpukkathir (V. Thileepkumar) from Mullaiththeevu
Captain Subesan (N. Maharaj) from Mannaar
Captain Senthooran (K. Thinesh) from Jaffna
Lt. Arun (P. Thivaakaran) from Jaffna
Captain Panchaseelan (S. Kajendran) from Batticaloa
Major Kanikkeethan (R. Kandasamy) from Batticaloa
Captain Eezhappiriya (K. Keethanchali) from Jaffna
Captain Arivumalar (S. Uthaya) from Jaffna  

சிறிலங்கா வான்படைத் தளம் மீதான தாக்குதலில் 8 வானூர்திகள் முற்றாக தாக்கியழிப்பு: விடுதலைப் புலிகள்
[திங்கட்கிழமை, 22 ஒக்ரோபர் 2007, 11:25 AM ஈழம்] [தாயக செய்தியாளர்]

அனுராதபுரம் சிறிலங்கா வான்படைத் தளம் மீது தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகளின் சிறப்புக் கரும்புலி அணியினர் இன்று அதிகாலை நடத்திய தாக்குதலில் 8 வானூர்திகள் முற்றாக தகர்த்து எரியூட்டி அழிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளதாக தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள் தெரிவித்துள்ளனர்.
இச்சம்பவம் தொடர்பில் தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள் வெளியிட்டுள்ள அதிகாரபூர்வ செய்தியறிக்கை:

"எல்லாளன் நடவடிக்கை" எனப் பெயரிட்டு இன்று திங்கட்கிழமை அதிகாலை 3:20 மணியளவில் 21 பேர் கொண்ட சிறப்புக் கரும்புலி அணியினர் அனுராதபுரம் சிறிலங்கா வான்படைத் தளத்திற்குள் உள்நுழைத்து தாக்குதல் தொடுத்தனர்.

இதனைத் தொடர்ந்து அதிகாலை 4:30 மணியளவில் தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகளின் வான்படையினர் தளத்தின் மீது குண்டுகளை வீசித் தாக்கியுள்ளனர்.

இன்றைய தாக்குதலில் சிறிலங்கா வான்படைக்குச் சொந்தமான

பயிற்சி வானூர்தி - 01
எம்.ஐ - 24 ரக உலங்கு வானூர்திகள் - 02
PT6 ரக - 01
பெல் 212 - 01
வேவு வானூர்தி - 01
செஸ்னா CTH - 748 - 01
கே-8 ரக வானூர்தி - 01

ஆகியன முற்றாக அழிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளன.
தற்போது வரை தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகளின் கரும்புலி அணியினர் அனுராதபுரம் வான்படைத் தளத்திற்குள் தீவிர தாக்குதல்களை மேற்கொண்ட வண்ணம் உள்ளனர். கரும்புலி அணியினரின் தாக்குதலுக்கு உதவியாக தமிழீழ வான்படையினரும் அனுராதபுரம் தளம் மீது தாக்குதல் நடத்திவிட்டு வெற்றிகரமாகத் தளம் திரும்பியிருப்பதாக வான் புலிகளின் தளபதி தெரிவித்துள்ளார்.

மேலும் வவுனியாவிலிருந்து உதவிக்குச் சென்ற பெல் - 212 ரக உலங்கு வானூர்தியொன்றும் வீழ்ந்து நொருங்கியுள்ளது என்று அச்செய்தியறிக்கையில் தெரிவிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.

"That takes us to the time when Sirasa Super Star was shown on TV," a military official said, referring to a hugely popular talent show inspired by "American Idol." "There are no TVs at sentry points, but the alertness of sentries and whether all positions were properly manned is being probed," said the official, who asked not to be named.

Three layers of razor wire protect what was considered one of the island's most secure bases. The installation serves as a key logistics hub for operations against the rebel-held north.

Military officials said the Tamil Tiger suicide squad, including three women who all died, were wearing camouflage uniforms similar to government soldiers and may have even just strolled in unchallenged.

In Anuradhapura, the authorities put the naked rebel corpses on public display on Tuesday, residents said. Two farm tractors pulled around trailers loaded with the dead. "The tractors stopped outside the hospital where there was a large gathering of people," one journalist said. "People took pictures while others were even filming."

Police and military chiefs in the area said a probe would be launched into the gruesome show.

[comment by tamilnation.org  See, however, the 'gruesome show' at the official website of the Sri Lanka Ministry of Defence, Public Security, Law & Order ]

The base is 210 kilometres (130 miles) from the capital and 60 kilometres from the front line separating government-held territory and the mini-state controlled by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

The military had previously moved its spy planes to Anuradhapura from an air base at Vavuniya, a tense town closer to the front line, for safety reasons.

Hours before the attack, the military in the area hosted a cross-country motor sporting event followed by a spirited party. The attack also came on the eve of the change of command at the base.

"Was it a happy coincidence for the Tigers or did they know all that in advance? This is something that will be covered by the investigations," a senior defence official close to the probe said.

"Defence top brass have already visited Anuradhapura, and are taking stock of the situation and looking at possible lapses. The question is how the Tigers managed to get in unnoticed."

The Tigers also sent in light aircraft to bomb the base from overhead, making the assault their first ever coordinated land and air strike. It also featured the largest number of suicide cadres for a single attack.

The latest attack came after a string of setbacks for the rebels, who in July were ejected from their last stronghold in the east of the island amid a breakdown in a Norwegian-brokered 2002 truce.

Tamil Tiger rebels had clear "inside information" ahead of a devastating attack that virtually wiped out the Sri Lankan government's fleet of spy planes, a report said yesterday.

In a report in the Sunday Times newspaper, defense analyst Iqbal Athas said up to 27 elite rebel fighters were able to stroll into the Anuradhapura base unchallenged before unleashing their assault. Authorities had previously said the rebels had sneaked into the base by cutting through the barbed wire perimeter.

"Up to 27 Black Tiger suicide cadres were able to go unchecked right up to the aircraft hangar," the report said, adding that the guerrilla strike force had camped at a nearby abandoned house before entering the base.

"There is no doubt that the guerrillas have been receiving up-to-date intelligence on the lay out and goings on at the air base," the report said. "There was inside information."

The report said base security could have been compromised due to the use of casual laborers hired to carry out runway expansion work.

Athas said the government may have also played down the damage inflicted during last Monday's attack.

Officials have said eight aircraft, including a twin-turbo prop Beechcraft plane equipped with advanced surveillance equipment and Israeli-made drones, were destroyed at Anuradhapura.

But Athas said he compiled a list of 27 aircraft at the base, and added that only three of them had been spared.

Defense officials have said they believed 20 Tigers took part in the attack, three of whom were shot dead. The others blew themselves up using explosives strapped to their waists.

Fourteen military personnel killed and another 22 wounded in the attack.

Meanwhile, troops and separatist Tamil Tiger rebels clashed in in the Muhamalai area of Jaffna Peninsula yesterday, leaving four guerrillas dead, an official at the Defense Ministry information center said. The violence came a day after the military reported killing 11 guerrillas in four separate incidents in Vavuniya district, south of Muhamalai.