LTTE aircraft lobbed bombs at Katunayake air force base, but no major damage, two dead, 17 injured

Munza Mushtaq in Colombo, March 26, 2007, 3.33 a.m.. Two Air Force personnel and another 17 were injured early morning today when a light aircraft suspected to be belonging to the Tamil Tiger rebels lobbed two bombs on the Air Force Base in Katunayake, a spokesman for the Media Centre for National Security told the Lanka Academic. The incident occurred at around 12.45 a.m. today morning but according to the spokesman no major damages were reported from the air force base. "The fighter jets including the MIG air crafts and the Kfir jets have not sustained any damages," he claimed. The area to the airport and the air force base has been closed and security forces are currently conducting cordon searches in and around the area to apprehend any cadres who may still be in the area.The spokesman maintained that the Bandaranaike International Airport was not under attack as reported in some media, he however noted that the airport has been closed due to obvious security reasons. Meanwhile all outgoing and incoming flights have been cancelled, and also incoming flights to Colombo have been asked to land in Chennai and Male International Airports. No civilians or passengers have been injured due to the attack. Out of the 17 injured, four of them are reportedly in critical condition

LTTE aircraft lobbed bombs at Katunayake air force base, but no major damage, two dead, 17 injuredMunza Mushtaq in Colombo, March 26, 2007, 3.33 a.m.. Two Air Force personnel and another 17 were injured early morning today when a light aircraft suspected to be belonging to the Tamil Tiger rebels lobbed two bombs on the Air Force Base in Katunayake, a spokesman for the Media Centre for National Security told the Lanka Academic.The incident occurred at around 12.45 a.m. today morning but according to the spokesman no major damages were reported from the air force base. "The fighter jets including the MIG air crafts and the Kfir jets have not sustained any damages," he claimed.The area to the airport and the air force base has been closed and security forces are currently conducting cordon searches in and around the area to apprehend any cadres who may still be in the area.The spokesman maintained that the Bandaranaike International Airport was not under attack as reported in some media, he however noted that the airport has been closed due to obvious security reasons. Meanwhile all outgoing and incoming flights have been cancelled, and also incoming flights to Colombo have been asked to land in Chennai and Male International Airports. No civilians or passengers have been injured due to the attack. Out of the 17 injured, four of them are reportedly in critical condition
Sri Lankan air force base attacked by Tamil Tiger rebels; 3 dead, 16 wounded
Associated Press, Sun March 25, 2007 19:53 EDT . KRISHAN FRANCIS - Associated Press Writer - COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - (AP) Using air power for the first time, Tamil Tiger rebels bombed an air force base on the outskirts of Sri Lanka - 's capital Monday, killing at least three air force officers and wounding 16 personnel, officials said. ``Two attack aircraft belonging to Liberation Tigers carried out bombing raids at the Sri Lanka - air force air base.....and returned safely,'' rebel spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan told The Associated Press by the telephone from the rebel stronghold of Kilinochchi. Calling the raid ``the first major aerial attack by the Tigers, Ilanthirayan said: ``The attack is not only pre-emptive but also to safeguard our people from indiscriminate bombing by the SLAF (Sri Lanka - air force.),'' ``Other Sri Lanka - military installations will also be targets of our future attacks,'' he said, but did not elaborate. Silva, the air force spokesman, also confirmed that Monday's raid was the first by the Tigers using aircraft. The adjacent international airport was not hit, but it closed for some time and has since resumed operations, said a duty officer at the airport. The rebels justified their attack by saying that Sri Lankan planes were used for bombing targets in the rebel-held areas. ``Military offensives by Sri Lanka - security forces in the northeast have been dominated by air-attacks by SLAF (Sri Lankan air force),'' which has caused civilian casualties and damages to civilian property, Ilanthirayan said. The rebels from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam staged a devastating attack on the same air base in July 2001 and destroyed six civilian jets and over a dozen military planes. About 18 Tiger suicide fighters were involved in the ground attack that also left half a dozen security personnel killed. The Tamil Tigers have fought since 1983 to create an independent homeland for the country's 3.1 million minority Tamils after decades of discrimination by the majority Sinhalese. A Norway-brokered cease-fire signed in 2002 slowed the violence but hostilities spiked again in late 2005, with more than 4,000 fighters and civilians killed in the last 15 months, according to European cease-fire monitors. While both sides have not officially withdrawn from the cease-fire, soaring violence has rendered the agreement valid only on paper. An estimated 65,000 people were killed in fighting before the cease-fire.
Sri Lanka says rebels bombed base from light plane

Reuters, 25 Mar 2007 21:32:11 GMT. COLOMBO, March 26 (Reuters) - Tamil Tiger rebels bombed an air force base next to Sri Lanka's international airport north of Colombo before dawn on Monday from a light aircraft, the Air Force said, killing two airmen and wounding 17. "A light Tiger aircraft flew over the air force base and dropped explosives. There have been two explosions. At the same time our air defences activated and there is a search operation going on," said Air Force spokesman Group Captain Ajantha de Silva.

Officials say Sri Lanka 's air force base likely under attack by Tamil Tiger rebels
Associated Press, Sun March 25, 2007 16:30 EDT . COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - (AP) Sri Lanka's air force base in the outskirts of the capital was likely under attack by Tamil Tiger rebels Monday, military officials said. Several witnesses heard gunfire and flashes at the air force base about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from Colombo, said the officials who cannot be named under military regulations. The rebels from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam are fighting for an independent homeland for the country's 3.1 million Tamils.

Mixed reports over Katunayake explosions, all international flights cancelled, more than 10 injured
Munza Mushtaq in Colombo, March 26, 2007, 2.43 a.m.. Two explosions have occurred at the Air Force Base in Katunayake which is adjacent to the country's only International Airport. Meanwhile, International flights from the Bandaranaike airport is reported to have been cancelled, however no immediate confirmation was available on this. The Media Centre for National Security a little while ago maintained that the international Airport was not under attack but it was only the air force base at Katunayake which was under suspected Tamil Tiger rebel attack. However unconfirmed reports claim that the runaway of the airport has also been attacked, but no independent verification was available at the time this report was filed. Meanwhile more than 10 persons have been injured due to the LTTE attack, and the injured have been rushed to the Negombo hospital and the Colombo National Hospital. Meanwhile, all incoming international flights have also been cancelled, and have been instructed to land in Chennai and Male International Airports

COLOMBO (Reuters) - Suspected Tamil Tiger rebels attacked an air force base at Sri Lanka's international airport before dawn on Monday, officials said.

Airline officials said the airport, 23 miles north of the capital Colombo, had been closed and Sri Lankan airlines said all arrivals and departures were on hold.

Military sources said the incident appeared to be a mortar bomb attack.

"There has been a loud explosion from the air force camp in Katunayake not far from the airport runway where all our attack aircraft are parked," said police spokesman Deputy Inspector General of Police Jayantha Wickramaratne.

Witnesses who live near the airport told Reuters they could hear gunfire. Nordic truce monitors were checking reports of an air attack by the rebels who have smuggled light aircraft into the country in pieces and claim to have an air force.

The attack comes after weeks of air force raids on Tamil Tiger targets in the north and east.

The Tigers last attacked the airport in 2001, the year before a ceasefire deal which has since collapsed on the ground. In that attack half of Sri Lankan Airlines' fleet of planes was destroyed.