Air Force Headquarters, Sapugaskanda targets

Partially burnt body of local pilot recovered

The security forces last night shot down two LTTE aircraft and foiled a desperate LTTE attempt to mount a Kamikaze type attack on the Air Force Headquarters at Slave Island and either Sapugaskanda or the Katunayake Airbase.

One explosive laden light aircraft which tried to descend on the SLAF headquarters missed the target amidst heavy anti-aircraft fire from many points in the city and crashed into the Inland Revenue Building nearby killing the pilot and injuring 45 others including two airmen. Two of the victims succumbed to their injuries at the National Hospital. Three storeys of the building were damaged.

The other aircraft, highly placed sources said, had attempted to ram the Sapugaskanda oil installation but was forced to change direction due to heavy anti-aircraft fire. While it was proceeding towards Katunayake presumably to launch an attack on the airbase, the security forces shot it down. The partially burnt body of its pilot was recovered from the debris of the ill-fated plane. "He was burnt but it was clear that he was not a foreigner; he must be a local," a high ranking military officer who visited the crash site told The Island.

Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said the two aircraft had taken off from the Puthukuduiyirippu area. "We knew the LTTE was planning an attack, the moment the aircraft were airborne as troops in the area informed us of the air movement even before the radars had picked them up," said the Defence Secretary. He said the LTTE may have used a straight road in their last stronghold for taking off as the outfit had lost all the airstrips to the troops during the past few months. "The Tiger craft flew over Mannar, Wilpattu and came to Colombo," he said, "that is their normal route."

The Defence Secretary said he was confident that the troops would have captured the LTTE planes within days and the LTTE had acted before they lost the craft on the ground. "They would have lost the planes anyway," he said. The LTTE’s desperate act, he said, indicated that its end was very near.

The LTTE launched an air strike on the Kelanitissa Power Station and the Thallady camp on Oct. 28, 2008.

Last night around 9.30 pm, the City of Colombo was plunged into darkness in anticipation of an air raid. The security forces had adequate notice of the pending attack and specially trained gunners took positions. Hell broke loose around 10.00 pm, when the aircraft were sighted over Colombo. Tracer bullets crisscrossed the skies with a deafening noise frightening the city dwellers. The police patrolled the streets ordering that lights be knocked out so that the LTTE would find it difficult to trace their targets.