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Exeter
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11.09.2008 14:29:04
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Современность; ВВС;
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А тем временем в Шри-Ланке, похоже, одержана крупная воздушная победа
Правительственные силы заявляют, что, наконец, зенитным огнем замочили один из двух самолетиков Zlin Z-143 ВВС "тигров", которые с весны прошлого года терроризировали бедные ланкийские вооруженные силы :-))
Произошло это в ходе комбинированного нападения "тигров" с воздуха и с земли на ланкийскую авиабазу Вавуния в 254 км к северу от Коломбо на рассвете во вторник. Согласно заявлению армии, в результате нападения погибло 11 военнослужащих и полицейских и еще 30 человек было ранено, включая двух индийских инженеров-локаторщиков, обслуживавших установленную там РЛС индийского производства Indra. Найдено 10 трупов "тигров", включая пять женщин.
"Тигры", впрочем, сообщение о потере своего самолёта опровергают и заявляют об уничтожении РЛС, бывшей главной целью нападения.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/Sri_Lanka_destroys_LTTE_plane_after_Tiger_raid_on_air_force_base/articleshow/3461319.cms
Sri Lanka destroys LTTE plane after Tiger raid on air force base
9 Sep 2008, 0919 hrs IST,IANS
COLOMBO: Light-wing aircraft of the Tamil Tigers carried out a pre-dawn raid on Tuesday on a Sri Lankan Air Force base in the country's north, but the air force retaliated and destroyed one of the planes for the first time, officials said.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) tried to bomb the air force in Vavuniya, 254 km north of Colombo.
"The LTTE has attempted an air raid in Vavuniya. We intercepted and destroyed one LTTE aircraft over (the rebel-heartland of) Mullaitivu (in the north)," air force spokesman Group Captain Janakka Nanayakkara said.
Mullaitivu, a dense jungle area which is considered the base for LTTE chief Velupillai Prabhakaran, is located 352 km northeast of Colombo and lies nearly 100 km north from Vavuniya.
Mullaitivu and Kilinochchi are the only two districts in Sri Lanka which the LTTE totally controls.
The air force spokesman said that extent of damages caused due to the LTTE air raid was not immediately known.
There was no immediate word from the LTTE in this regard. The LTTE, which is campaigning for an independent Tamil homeland in Sri Lanka's northeast, is believed to be in possession of an unknown number of Czech-built Zlin-Z-143 light-wing aircraft.
Residents in Vavuniya town said over telephone that they heard a barrage of artillery fire a few minutes before the suspected low-flying aircraft of the LTTE entered the district's air space.
This is the sixth LTTE air attack since last year and the second in 15 days. But this is the first time the Sri Lankan Air Force has destroyed a Tiger plane.
On August 29 night, at least four Sri Lankan sailors were reportedly killed when a light-wing aircraft of the rebels bombed a key naval base in the eastern port city of Trincomalee.
The latest LTTE air offensive has come at a time when fierce fighting is raging in the northern Wanni region between the advancing government troops and the rebels.
The military, which captured the north-western district of Mannar last month, has now declared that it was now operating just 12 km away from the rebel-heartland of Kilinochchi.
Tuesday's incident also came exactly a day after Sri Lanka asked local and international aid workers to vacate Tamil Tiger-held territory at the earliest, indicating the start of a major push against the rebels in their final bastion in the north.
Minister of Disaster Management and Human Rights said the government had informed the aid agencies "that we are not in a position to guarantee their safety given the present situation".
"We asked them to leave the Wanni (region) immediately with all their resources for their own safety. They wanted a week or two to comply," he said.
И еще об этом:
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
20 killed, Indians wounded in LTTE strike
Two light-wing aircraft of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam bomb a military base in Vavuniya around 4 am on Tuesday
Colombo: Tamil Tigers carried out a surprising pre-dawn air-and-ground assault on a military base in Sri Lanka's north on Tuesday, leaving 21 military personnel and rebels dead and many including two Indian radar engineers injured. The authorities said they had, for the first time, shot down one of the two Tiger planes, but the rebels denied it.
Two light-wing aircraft of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) flew into Vavuniya, 254 km north of here, around 4 a.m. and bombed the base, the pro-LTTE website TamilNet reported. At the same time, LTTE ground troops fired artillery at the complex while Tiger commandos engaged in "calculated destruction".
TamilNet said the attack "devastated" the joint headquarters of Sri Lanka's military and air force for the Wanni region in the island's north, where heavy fighting is raging between government troops and the LTTE.
The military, however, said it thwarted the LTTE offensive in Vavuniya, 254 km north of here. But at least 10 rebels, including five women, 10 soldiers and a policeman were killed.
The defence ministry said the rebels used long-range artillery to fire at the base, from where jets take off and bomb LTTE areas.
"The terrorists opened fire on the army camp in order to prevent counter attack and directed their ground assault at the base. But soldiers moved forward amid heavy enemy fire and crushed the terrorists' ground assault completely," the ministry said.
"Ten bodies of LTTE cadres have been found. Ten soldiers laid down their lives and 15 others suffered injuries. One police constable was killed and eight sustained injuries due to enemy artillery fire," it said. Five air force personnel were also injured.
It said that air force jets intercepted "two LTTE light aircraft fleeing after the failed mission at Vavuniya and shot down one of the aircraft" in the skies over Muallaitivu.
The LTTE in an email statement to media Tuesday evening, however, denied the military claims. "The aircraft of the Air Tigers that participated in the sortie safely returned home," the LTTE statement said.
It said that "a Black Tiger unit" launched the predawn attack on the radar station situated in the Wanni Operational Headquarters of the Sri Lankan Armed forces at 03.05 a.m.
"Weaponry stores, communication tower, communication facility and antiaircraft guns were also destroyed in this attack."
But a defence spokesman told reporters in Colombo that "the objective of the LTTE air attack to destroy the radar system deployed in the Air Force base in Vavuniya was repulsed" due to the timely activation of Air Defence system at the base.
Mullaitivu, a dense jungle area which is considered the base for LTTE chief Velupillai Prabhakaran, is located 352 km northeast of Colombo and lies nearly 100 km north of Vavuniya.
Mullaitivu and Kilinochchi are the only two districts in Sri Lanka that the LTTE totally controls.
In Colombo, the Indian high commission admitted that two Indian radar technicians were wounded in the attack and had been shifted to Colombo for treatment.
"Two Indian technicians, who are in Sri Lanka for some time for routine servicing and maintenance of radars, have suffered injuries," mission spokesperson Dinkar Asthana told IANS.
The pro-LTTE puthinam website alleged that the Tiger aircraft targeted a building where Indian-made 2-D Indra radars were housed.
The website did not say anything about Sri Lanka's claim of shooting down one LTTE aircraft. An Indian official in New Delhi also said that there was no independent confirmation that a Tiger plane had been brought down.
Air force spokesman Janakka Nanayakkara said that radars, most of them provided by India, picked up two LTTE aircraft as they neared Vavuniya, enabling the interceptor jets to carry out their mission in pursuing the rebel aircraft.
Residents in the town said they heard a barrage of artillery fire minutes before the low-flying LTTE planes entered Vavuniya air space. "The volleys of artillery fire by both sides shook the town and nearby villages," said a resident.
This is the sixth LTTE air attack since last year and the second in 15 days. But this is for the first time Sri Lanka's air force claimed to have destroyed any LTTE plane.
The LTTE, which is campaigning for a Tamil homeland in Sri Lanka's northeast, is believed to be in possession of an unknown number of Czech-built Zlin-Z-143 light-wing aircraft.
The military believes that the LTTE has suffered heavy losses due to constant air raids on Tiger reserves in Kilinochchi in recent days.
The military, which captured the northwestern district of Mannar last month, has declared it is now operating barely 12 km away from the rebel-heartland of Kilinochchi.
Tuesday's incident came a day after Colombo asked local and international aid workers to vacate Tiger-held territory at the earliest, saying their safely cannot be guaranteed.
Source: Indo-Asian News Service
С уважением, Exeter