Tigers warn of more air attacks

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam on Monday warned that their nascent air wing would launch more aerial attacks after a weekend pre-dawn raid on oil facilities near the capital, as the military claimed it killed 14 insurgents overnight.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on Monday warned that their nascent air wing would launch more aerial attacks after a weekend pre-dawn raid on oil facilities near the capital, as the military claimed it killed 14 insurgents overnight.

Royal Dutch Shell’s local arm said it had temporarily closed its main storage facility 12 miles north of Colombo after Sunday’s pre-dawn raid damaged its fire fighting system.

“The Sri Lankan military, especially the air force, are adamantly trying to prove they will always seek a military solution,” Tiger military spokes-

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person R Ilanthiraiyan said by phone from the northern rebel stronghold of Kilinochchi. “So, we have no other way than to take our own measures,” he added. “There will definitely be more.”

Sunday’s air raid triggered panic in the capital as air defences plunged Colombo into darkness and tracers and rockets streaked through the night sky, forcing bars packed with fans watching their side battling in the World Cup cricket final to shut abruptly. Ilanthiraiyan said the timing was a coincidence.

Lanka’s military has vowed to wipe out the rebel air wing. “To neutralise them either in the air or on the ground…is a requirement,” said military spokesperson Brigadier P Samarasinghe.