Navy foils suicide mission

Rafik JALALDEEN

Navy foiled an LTTE attempt to breach the naval blockade in a pre-emptive attack and destroyed a sea Tiger’s suicide boat in the east of Mullaitivu seas yesterday.

Navy spokesman Commander D.K.P. Dassanayake said sailors on patrol in the east of Mullaitivu seas intercepted a sea Tiger boat laden with high explosives deployed from Mullaitivu around 3.00am.

”The LTTE suicide boat moving towards the naval blockade on a suicide mission was destroyed by the naval patrol following a heavy fire”, Commander Dassanayake told the Daily News.

The sea Tiger boat was destroyed and all the LTTE suicide cadres on the boat were killed.

“A search operation was launched in the area”, he added.

The Navy maintains continuous naval surveillance and patrolling in the North-Eastern seas.

Naval fortifications have been tightened with four defense barriers consisting of Fast Attack Craft (FACs), Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs), Gun Boats, the Rapid Action Boat Squadron (RABS) and the Special Boat Squadron (SBS) to prevent the LTTE fleeing by sea and to restrain the unloading of warlike materials on the North-eastern coast.