LTTE Air attack thwarted; 'No damages to Palali military base'

Ministry of Defence, Public Security, Law & Order

The Sri Lanka Air Force denied the statement of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam(LTTE) that the Tamil Tiger air planes bombed the Palali air strip by using their propeller driven two fixed winged air craft and called it a complete fabrication.

But military sources said by artillery fire six soldiers died at Myladdi , away from Palali air strip.

Military officials said that SL security forces were successful in repulsing an LTTE attempt to breach the High Security Air Zone in Palali. The security forces acted promptly, alerted through the air defence systems, and launched a counter air offensive at a suspected aircraft, detected in the skies off Tondamannar, forcing it to change course immediately. Observation units in the Point Pedro area confirmed that the fleeing aircraft had dropped two bombs in the Myladdi area. Unable to make-through the anti-air gunfire support from the SL security forces, the suspected aircraft had immediately altered course and headed to the un-liberated Mullattivu area.

Meanwhile, military officials in Jaffna said that LTTE terrorists launched a series of artillery fire towards the Palali general area from Pooneryn in the un-cleared Killinochchi district following the unsuccessful air attack. According to the Jaffna military officials, the LTTE artillery mounts were silenced in successive retaliatory heavy gunfire from the security forces. No damages were caused to the Palali military base, the officials further added.

According to civilian sources, tension has mounted in the Tellippalai area as LTTE launched artillery shells fell well within the civilian settlements, forcing the majority Tamil community to take shelter under the protection of the security forces. Military officials said that the damages caused to civilian lives and property were not yet accessed due to the LTTE artillery attack.

The exposed bogus reporting is another incident of the LTTE misleading the world community; an effort of the LTTE to gain undue propaganda mileage to their terrorist activities.

The discrepancies in the reporting of Pro-LTTE websites have become a phenomenal error in their cause of mediation.

This type of "Untruth", is resorted to win the confidence of people else where in the world.

The terrorists built military airstrips and smuggled in about five aircraft into the country, taking advantage of the lax security measures imposed by the Ranil Wickremesinghe administration immediately after he signed a Norway led peace accord.