Title:
Katunayake Airbase Attack

Description:
On Tuesday, July 23, 2001 at 3:30am, a strike team consisting of fourteen members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam infiltrated the Katunayake Airbase and commenced a 10 hour assault on the Sri Lankan Air Force. This battle caused the largest amount of financial loss to the Sri Lankan Army in the 18 years of the Tamil Eelam separatist conflict. The total financial loss was estimated by the Sri Lankan government to be $375 million USD. The meticulously planned attack by the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) targeted SriLanka Airlines aircraft parked on the apron and another foreign-owned cargo plane was spared. When the battle was over 14 members of the LTTE, 7 soldiers of the Sri Lankan Air Force had been killed. There were no civilian casualties. The confidence of the Sri Lankan military had been shattered. Ten Squadron" Bombing Runs Sri Lanka had newly assembled an aerial bombardment fleet known as "Ten Squadron". It consisted of thirteen Kfirs and eight MIG-27s. Katunayake that had the most suitable infrastructure in terms of tarmac and runway facility for smooth multi-level take offs and landings for these aircraft, particularly the supersonic MIGs and Kfirs. Though the Katunayake attack had been put together in the year 2000 the LTTE had refrained from implementation because the LTTE had been observing a unilateral ceasefire. The Kumaratunga regime rejected the LTTEs peace offer and pursued war. It launched operation 'Agni Kheela' on April 24 which ended in failure. The turning point came when the government embarked on a massive bombing spree in the North on June 30, under the flimsy pretext that it was necessary to preempt an offensive planned by the Tigers to retake Jaffna. The LTTE denied this vehemently and issued a statement on July 2, warning the government that it must bear the consequences for the unwarranted air raids. Meanwhile some Air force personnel came to the playground after electricity supply was resumed to check out the "picnickers". There were none. Empty soft drink cans, food parcel remains and biscuit and chocolate wrappers were strewn around. The Air force personnel did not suspect anything and told the residents who complained that the "picnickers" must have left after their "bajaw" and returned. This was a security lapse with grave consequences. The Tiger squad reached a point about 400 metres from the outer fence behind the Air base. There was an open stretch of land between the fence and the outskirts of the coconut grove that was a "no go zone' as it was heavily mined. Also the fence was too was electronically activated and could electrocute intruders. There was however a drainage canal that was partly sub - terranean. This was to prevent flooding of the runways and tarmac during rainy season. The water flowed through to a nearby marshy lagoon. It was stone dry now. The Tigers now began to crawl through this drainage canal towards the base. The advance column infiltrated the outer limits of the base through the canal and deactivated the electronic fence. The barbed wire was then cut systematically. Thereafter the entire team with their weapons and equipment got inside the base perimeter. The next step was to fix explosives to the three transformers. The Tigers had accurate maps and diagrams of the installation and knew exactly where everything was. Some Tigers also moved towards the hangars and prepared to explode the aircraft within. At 3:15AM a single subdued shot was fired by one of the Tigers. Air force sentries heard it and were puzzled but did not react sharply. It is presumed that the shot was some form of signal to the squad which divided itself into three main groups. The electric transformers were blown up in rapid succession from 3:30 to 3:35AM. The Air base was enveloped in darkness. The Air force did not suspect anything at even this stage. Along with electricity board men attempts were on to check out and restore powers supply again. There were 350 Air force personnel of all categories in the base at the time of attack. While total darkness reigned the Tiger squad moved out in three directions. One went clandestinely to the Airport terminal and climbed on top of the control tower roof. One went inside the hangar premises and started implanting explosives. The third went towards the tarmac and commenced affixing explosives.

Author:
TigerHeros

Tags:
air, airport, asia, assualt, bombing, civil, eelam, fighters, freedom, lanka, ltte, nadu, sri, strike, tamil, tigers, war,