Kfirs take precise target, LTTE loses heavy gun

Ranil Wijayapala

The Security Forces engaged in the last leg of the final battle against the LTTE outside the No Fire Zone reached yet another victory yesterday with the destruction of 130 mm heavy artillery gun located in the North East of Puthukudiyiruppu following a combined operation by the ground troops and the Sri Lanka Air Force, military sources said yesterday.

The ground troops of the 58 Division under the command of Brigadier Shavendra Silva located this heavy artillery gun mounted on a tractor firing barrages of artillery.

It was directed at the ground troops operating in the Puthukudiyiruppu battlefront from a location as close as 200 meters, military officials told the Daily News.

Initially, the Tiger artillery gun was targeted by the heavy artillery guns compelling the Tiger cadres to move it further interior into their area. ”The support of the Air Force was called in to destroy this gun as it created a major obstacle for the ground troops”, sources added.

Kfir fighter jets airborne from Katunayake took this precise target completely destroying the heavy artillery gun as Tiger cadres were making desperate attempts to hide the gun in a safer place in the North East of Puthukudiyiruppu.

The 130 mm artillery gun was destroyed in a huge fire ball creating explosions subsequent to the destruction of the artillery gun”, Air Force Spokesman Wing Commander Janaka Nanayakkara said.

According to the military sources the destroyed 130mm artillery gun was among the few heavy artillery guns available with the LTTE and the balance artillery guns are located inside the No Fire Zone to direct fire on the advancing troops and also towards the fleeing civilians.