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Sri Lankan Navy Gunboat Sank by Tiger Rebels
Sri Lanka's separatist Tamil Tiger rebels staged on Wednesday a suicide attack against two navy gunboats, sinking one of them, the Defense Ministry said.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels launched the attack against the Israeli-built Dvora gunboats off the coast of Mullaitivu in northeast of the country, the ministry said.
The rebel attack took place at around 6 a.m. on Wednesday morning. One navy gunboat was sank while 12 sailors on the other were later rescued.
The two gunboats had been moving from Trincomalee to Kankasanthurai. The LTTE rebels had struck the navy boats at a location approximately eight nautical miles east of Mullaitivu.
The Defense Ministry said that while one boat sank, reinforcements were rushed from both Kankasanthurai and Trincomalee. The air force had also provided close air support. Search and rescue operations for seven sailors reported missing
are continuing.
The LTTE began their unilateral ceasefire on Christmas Eve last year, which was extended until March 24 and asked the government to reciprocate the truce offer.
However, the government has maintained that a reciprocal ceasefire is possible only after talks between the two sides made substantive progress.
The LTTE rebels have been fighting against government forces since 1983 in the north and east of the country for a separate Tamil state. More than 60,000 people have been killed in the bloody war.
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