*Suicide craft mingled with fishing boats
*Desperate bid to create backlash in South

Crowds in Galle town seeking information on their loved ones after news spread that the Navy Base there had come under attack from LTTE suicide bombers. Pic by Sugathapala Mendis. Galle correspondent.

An LTTE suicide squad attack on the Southern Naval base ‘Dhakshina’ in Galle, at around 7.45 a.m. yesterday, was foiled by the Navy. Five Tiger suicide craft reached the entrance to the Galle Harbour posing as of fishing boats, but the Navy acted swiftly to destroy them. All LTTE suicide cadres on board were killed, Defence Spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella said.

One sailor and a civilian were killed and 24 injured in the attack. The civilian had died due to shock. The injured are being treated at the Karapitiya Teaching Hospital, Galle. Among them are 14 sailors, hospital sources said.

The LTTE is desperately trying to inveigle the people in the South to create a backlash, on the Tamils living in those areas, through such provocative acts, Rambukwella said adding that the terrorists planned to enter the port of Galle with the motive of attacking the merchant vessels berthed there.

The Minister appealed to the masses to be calm, exercise restraint and not to fall into the LTTE trap.

He was addressing the media at the weekly defence briefing.

The Government is ready to go ahead with the proposed talks scheduled to be held in Geneva on October 28 and 29 he said. "We are not holding talks to appease the LTTE but the Tamils in the North and the East have genuine grievances and they have not been resolved by successive governments. We will go beyond the CFA and try to address these issues," he said.

Rambukwella said the morale of the Security Forces was very high and the LTTE was making a desperate attempt to dampen their spirit "Although nearly one hundred Navy personnel were killed in the Tiger suicide attack in Habarana, hundreds of youth are queuing up to join the Navy."

He warned certain elements in the media to refrain from carrying false news, detrimental to national security. Introducing the location where the LTTE made an abortive attempt to enter the harbour in Galle as a top tourism area in news reports will only be a blow to the country’s economy and only help the terrorist cause, he said.

Answering a question on whether the threat perception was looming large and more than that which meets the eye with the LTTE infiltrating the South of the country, the minister said "The terrorists are all over the country."

Navy Spokesman Commander D. K. P. Dassanayke said "Our men had spotted five LTTE craft which had come near the port, mingling with the fishing boats, speeding towards ‘Dhakshina’ the Southern Naval base in Galle. The sailors acted swiftly and destroyed three of them before they neared the harbour. The other two were destroyed while entering the port. There were five explosions as the LTTE suicide craft were destroyed."

Dassanayake denied rumours that the LTTE fired Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPG) from the nearby Rumassala Hill which is on the southern flank of the Naval base. "They cannot fire RPGs from such a long distance" he said. The Tigers had fired RPG’s from their craft before they were destroyed, he said. Asked about a bigger LTTE vessel disappearing in the sea when the smaller boats were attacked, he dismissed the suggestion. There were many vessels in and around the area but they couldn’t have come on the LTTE mission, he said.

The Army is conducting a search operation and the Air Force is conducting air surveillance to look for any suspicious vessels, he said.

In the gun battle which lasted a few minutes, two water jets and a smaller craft belonging to the Navy were damaged, he said. The situation was brought under control in a few minutes.