COLOMBO, July 25 (AFP) A busload of Tiger Tamil rebels enjoyed a picnic near a tightly-guarded international airport and adjoining military air base before launching a devastating attack which left 21people dead, police sources said Wednesday.
The revelation that the guerrillas could gather right under the nose of a military checkpoint has compounded the embarrassment for the defence establishment, airport sources said.
At least 14 members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) had what they knew was almost certainly their meal at a public park near the two facilities before breaking in and destroying military and civilian aircraft.
Press reports suggested local residents had alerted the authorities to the unusual gathering of the men near the airport, but they appeared to have not taken it seriously.
The suicide squad, including bombers with explosives strapped to their bodies, went on to sabotage the power supply in the area and then cut barbed wire fences to enter the supposedly high security area.
"We have found 13 pairs of boots and one pair of slippers worn by the Tigers," a police official conducting the investigation said. "We believed they came barefoot, cut a perimeter fence and crept in. It was a one-way journey for those who went in."
Police have issued an alert to track down the luxury 26-seat bus used by the suicide squad to get near the military and civilian aviation complex. As the devastated airport and the airbase were cleared Tuesday, the authorities were also dealing with the remains of the 14 men. Some blasted themselves to pieces as they set ablaze three civilian passenger jet liners.
Another suicide bomber's body was found near a cargo belt at the terminal building. "Although we suspect only 14 entered the complex, and we have accounted for all of them, it is possible there were a few others who remained outside to co-ordinate the attack," a police source said. It is believed the guerrillas may have planned the attack for several months and chose a time when half thefleet of Sri Lanka's national carrier, SriLankan Airlines, was at the
airport.
Air force chief Air Chief Marshall Jayalath Weerakkody has appointed a court of inquiry headed by an air vice marshal to investigate lapses. President Chandrika Kumaratunga has
also ordered a top level probe. The attack was not even totally unexpected.The government itself had said the Tigers might try to strike to mark the 18th anniversary of anti-Tamil riots in Colombo in July 1983, in which up to 600 people were killed.
Security throughout the country is generally stepped up in July, which is regarded as the most violent period.
But the question remains how the rebels managed to attack the airport, supposedly protected by the tightest possible security.
Normally even wallets are searched at the entrance to Bandaranaike
airport.
It has its own crack team of commandos trained in anti-hijacking
operations, but they were not deployed to guard the aircraft and the terminal even two hours after the neighbouring airbase was hit, police said.
The first attacks against commercial airliners started long after the
guerrillas destroyed eight military aircraft. The rebels crossed the airport runway and then fired rocket propelled
grenades at aircraft.
The arms they brought into the complex caused even more embarrassment. The cache included three general purpose machine guns, one 40-mm grenade launcher, three rocket propelled
grenades, nine T-56 assault rifles, eight explosive charges and six
shoulder-fired anti-tank weapons.
(Yahoo! Asia - News - Asia)
