Navy foils LTTE bid to smuggle warlike materials: 11 LTTE boats destroyed - Delft

Eleven LTTE attack boats were destroyed including two suicide craft during a heavy sea battle erupted this morning (December 26), in seas south off Delft, Naval sources say.

According to latest information, Navy fast attack craft triumphed destroying eleven LTTE boats, while unconfirmed sources reveal at least 40 terrorists were killed during the hours long sea confrontation.

Naval task units including fast attack craft engaged decisive strikes at an LTTE boat cluster consisting 16 boats, Naval sources said.

Elite Naval sea units detected a suspicious boat cluster in seas south west off Delft, today at around 7.30a.m. Clashes erupted and turned into a fierce sea battle when Naval task units took initiative to cut off the suspicious boat movement, at 11.30a.m, defence sources say. According to Naval sources, LTTE elements were engaged in a clandestine sea movement smuggling warlike material towards the non-liberated Nachchikudha coast when detected by the Naval patrol units.

Naval fast attack craft responded effectively towards the LTTE cluster with heavy gunfire and evasive battle manoeuvres, forcing terrorist boats to flee further southwards. According to information received, SLAF MI-24 gunships also engaged aerial strikes at the fleeing LTTE boats.

Meanwhile, defence sources said LTTE communication has gone silent since the break-off of fighting in the waters off Delft. Further information said, a dockyard built naval craft was damaged when two suicide LTTE boats exploded in the Naval retaliatory attacks. The damaged boat is now been towed towards the Kankesanthurai harbour, by Naval sea units security sources said.

According to latest reports, slain body of a naval officer was recovered by naval units during search operations conducted. Two naval personnel were also rescued during the salvage operations, sources reveal.

Meanwhile, eleven other naval personnel were reported missing following the confrontation, Naval sources said.

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SL prez Rajapaksa vows to crush terrorism

Vowing to crush terrorism in Sri Lanka, President Mahinda Rajapaksa today said the Tamil Tiger rebels should be defeated militarily before finding any political solution to the bloody ethnic conflict.

''No political solution is possible without crushing terrorism completely. Our military victories are clearing way for a lasting political solution,'' President Rajapaksa said while speaking at the national event to mark the third anniversary of the tsunami disaster in the Southern Matara district.

''The LTTE would be defeated militaraly and forced to accept a political solution after laying down weapons,'' President Rajapaksa said, minutes after ceremonially opening a Korean-funded bridge that was destroyed by the terror waves three years ago. ''I hope they (LTTE) understand this reality,'' President Rajapaksa, who is also the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, said.

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http://news.oneindia.in/2007/12/26/rajapaksa-vows-to-crush-terrorism-1198663542.html

Sri Lankan military detains Indonesian ship to investigate any links to Tamil rebels

The navy detained an Indonesian-registered ship off the eastern coast of Sri Lanka to investigate any possible ties with separatist Tamil Tiger rebels as fighting across the embattled north killed 15 guerrillas, the military said Wednesday.

The ship was drifting when it was detected about 160 kilometers off the island's eastern coast Tuesday morning and navy troops boarded the ship for an investigation, a defense ministry official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

The navy is questioning the 12-member Indonesian crew, the official said, adding that it will conduct a full investigation to check if the ship had any links with the Tamil Tigers.

The official said the ship's captain told the navy that his vessel was sailing from the Indian city of Mumbai to Thailand and that the vessel started drifting when it ran out of fuel. The official declined to give further details.

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http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailgeneral.asp?fileid=20071226150047&irec=7

Terrorism expert names 8 countries suppling weapons to Tamil Tigers

A terrorism expert recently listed eight sources of arms procurement for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

Peter Leitner, president of the Higgins Counterterrorism Research Center and professor at the National Center for Biodefense at George Mason University, said clandestine arms dealers in Tamil Nadu, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Cyprus, Cambodia, Thailand, Burma and Croatia supply explosives, weapons and other supplies to the group.

While most armaments are obtained by forged or adapted end-user certificates, the LTTE arms transport is the “largest quantity of armaments ever transported by a non-state armed group,” Leitner pointed out.

The LTTE has been listed as a terrorist organisation by the United States and the European Union.

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http://huntoftheseawolves.net/blog/?p=790

54 killed in Sri Lanka, army captures part of Thampane

At least 52 LTTE militants have been killed in gunbattles between security forces and the rebels in Sri Lanka's embattled north, where the army captured a portion of the rebel-held Thampane area.

Elsewhere two civilians also lost their lives in attacks by suspected Tiger rebels, the army said on Tuesday.

"We on Monday night moved in about one km inside Thampane and one of the camps — which was taken control of — could accommodate 300 LTTE militants," a ministry spokesman said.

In two other areas of Thampane, the troops moved in about 300 metres and 500 metres respectively, the spokesman said, adding this was the fourth major success for army during the last few days.

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