Thank you callmejoe for the link.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=ltte
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=tamiltigers
###
http://counterterrorismblog.org/2007/05/lttes_tamil_eelam_air_force_se.php
“LTTE’s Tamil Eelam Air Force: Setting A Dangerous Precedent”
By Animesh Roul
(May 2, 2007; 6:40 pm)
~
http://www.isn.ethz.ch/news/sw/details.cfm?id=17559
“Sri Lanka: Rebels with an air force
Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tiger rebels launch air strikes against government installations, boosting their morale after last year’s losses and taking the renewed conflict to a dangerous new level.”
Commentary by Animesh Roul for ISN Security Watch (02/05/07)
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “In an apparent change of war tactics, Sri Lanka’s Tamil militant group, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), is now resorting to aerial attacks against government targets, a novel shift in the conflict that has ravaged the Indian Ocean island nation for three decades.
In what is regarded as the “Fourth Eelam War,” at least three successful air raids have been carried out by the LTTE’s Tamil Eelam air force (TAF) since 26 March, the date of the first such attack on the Sri Lankan air force (SLAF) base at Katunayake. The nighttime raid left three government soldiers dead and some 17 others injured.”
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “Indeed, the TAF air attacks set a dangerous precedent in the region where many like minded militant groups are fighting for their own subversive agendas. The LTTE is believed to have logistical and other linkages with the India-based United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) and the left-wing extremist (Maoists) elements operating in the country.
Fears are growing within security and intelligence establishments in the subcontinent, especially in India. If the LTTE can have penetrative air squadrons, others could follow suit employing similar stealthy methods. Moreover, there are fears that the LTTE could eventually attack strategic installations on India’s southern coast, although these fears are remote at present, given the LTTE’s proven reluctance to provide India to enter the fray.”
However, these speculations aside, with the Norwegian brokered ceasefire in tatters since mid last year, the island nation is certainly bracing for a more violent conflict in the months ahead, as the rebels bask in a new found high.