MULLAITTIVU: AT least twenty-three Tiger terrorists aboard three LTTE boats, including two suicide boats were destroyed in the MULLAITTIVU seas by Naval attack craft this morning (01).
Naval troops on close surveillance in the seas spotted this unusual movement as the wee hours broke and pursued it in a meticulous manner until their identities were verified through technical sources.
Meanwhile, a release issued by the Media Center for National Security (MCNS) said;
Sri Lanka Navy’s elite Special Boat Squadron (SBS), Fat Attack Craft (FAC) and Rapid Action Boat squadron (RABS) destroyed three (03) Sea Tiger boats killing twenty three (23) Sea Tigers in the seas off MULLAITTIVU around 1.00 a.m. today (1st May 2009).
The vigilant Naval Troops engaged a combined cluster of two Sea Tiger suicide craft and one attack craft which attempted abortively to launch a suicide attack against the Naval craft, deployed on patrolling in the sea off Mullaittivu in the early hours. Two suicide craft laden with high explosives and one enemy attack craft were completely destroyed by the Naval gunfire while killing 23 Sea Tiger cadres. Meanwhile the monitoring of Sea Tiger communication has revealed that LTTE Sea Tigers have suffered severe casualties in this confrontation.
The round the clock vigilance maintained by alert Naval troops on continuous Naval patrol close to the now fast – diminishing enemy stronghold, has been instrumental in thwarting LTTE’s last ditch desperate sea tiger attacks on ground troops. The Navy’s patrol craft have recently been able to inflict heavy losses on enemy cadres and vessel losses on the LTTE Sea Tigers. Naval fortification have been heightened with multiple defence barriers consisting of Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs), fast gun boats (FGBs), fast attack craft (FACs), the Rapid Action Boat Squadron (RABS) and the Special Boat Squadron (SBS).
Continuous shore-base radar surveillance is also being carried out in order to compliment Naval units to prevent remaining LTTE cadres from launching desperate attacks on advancing security personnel and to cut off the fleeing attempts of Tiger leaders, trapped in the No Fire Zone.
