Counterterrorism Blog

Undoubtedly, the recent developments make the Tamil militant group, Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the first militant outfit in the world to have an effective air force. Now after three successful aerial attacks on Sri Lanka government infrastructures, LTTE claimed to have inflicted massive damage to the Island nation’s economy. Of course, LTTE’s air raids have forced many International airlines to change schedules and some even suspended flights to the country, affecting its tourism and travel industry. But more alarming is that the Tamil Eelam Air Force’s attacks set a dangerous precedent in the region where many like minded militant groups are fighting for their own subversive agendas.

Find my commentary on LTTE’s air power and capabilty here at ISN Security Watch (May 02, 2007). A Brief excerpt:

In what is regarded as the "Fourth Eelam War," at least three successful air raids have been carried out by the LTTE's Tamil Eelam air force (TAF) since 26 March, the date of the first such attack on the Sri Lankan air force (SLAF) base at Katunayake. The nighttime raid left three government soldiers dead and some 17 others injured. In the second successful air strike on 24 April, the TAF inflicted extensive damage to a Sri Lankan army engineering unit in the Palali military complex, leaving six soldiers dead and a dozen others wounded. Once again the TAF returned to strike the Katunayake air base on 26 April, likely in commemoration of the one month anniversary of the first successful air strike. The 26 April attempt, however, failed. Not deterred by the Sri Lankan air force's pledge to destroy the LTTE's air capability with the deployment of anti- aircraft artilleries, another air raid was carried out in the early hours of 29 April, when the TAF bombers targeted two oil storage facilities that cater to SLAF in Kolonnawa and Muththuraajawala areas. In this pre-dawn swoop, fuel facilities belonging to Indian Oil and the Dutch Shell were targeted successively, only hours after the SLAF's air strike in the town of Kilinochchi - an LTTE stronghold.

Couple of Articles on this Issue(Updated):
Unmanned Aerial Aircrafts Smuggled

Is LTTE thinking of an aerospace force?