Sri Lanka says major disaster averted

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Source: Bangkok Post

Colombo - Sri Lanka's military said Saturday it averted a major disaster in the capital Colombo by knocking out two Tamil Tiger light aircraft packed with explosives before they could hit their intended targets.






The wreckage of the Tamil Tiger light aircraft lies in a marsh near Colombo
Colombo activated its air defence system as the planes approached late on Friday, shooting down one near the city's main airport and apparently forcing the other off course and into the Inland Revenue building.

Air force spokesman Janaka Nanayakkara said each plane was packed with 215 kilos (473) pounds of C-4 type plastic explosives and the city's ground-based air defence units had averted a major disaster.

However, the pro-rebel Tamilnet.com said the attacks, in which two people died and another 58 were wounded, were "successful."

"This is a desperate attack," said defence spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella. "They may be trying to divert attention from their defeats in the north."

The Tigers' territory in the northeast of the island has been rapidly shrinking in the past two years as government forces, backed by aircraft, tanks and heavy weapons, have carried out their biggest-ever onslaught.

"They are rapidly losing ground and they would have had to destroy the planes anyway before the army stormed in," said a military field commander, who declined to be named.

Rambukwella said security forces hoped to crush the Tigers "in a matter of days," adding, "very soon, this problem will be over."

Authorities said the wounded included tax department staff and bystanders hit by falling debris. The identity of the two dead has not been released, but one of them was believed to be a child.



Read more: http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/asian/136756/sri-lanka-says-major-disaster-averted-in-colombo

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It appears that the Tamil insurrgency is rapidly losing ground and may be collapsing.