Raid on Anuradhapura Air Force Base

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Raid on Anuradhapura Air Force Base
partof=the Sri Lankan Civil War
date=October 22, 2007


caption=
place=Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka
casus=
result=Successfull LTTE commando raid
combatant1=Sri Lanka Air Force
combatant2=LTTE Black Tiger
strength1=One air base garrison
strength2=21 suicide commandos
casualties1=14 killed, 22 wounded
Aircraft destroyed:
1 Mi-24 attack helicopter, 1 Mi-17 helicopter, 1 K-8 jet trainer, 3 PT-6 trainers, 1 Bell 206, 1 Beechcraft surveillance plane [ [http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20071024_07 Ministry of Defence] ]
Aircraft damaged: 10
casualties2=20 killedThe Raid on Anuradhapura Air Force Base was a commando raid conducted on October 22, 2007, by the LTTE Black Tiger, on the SLAF Anuradhapura an Air Force Base in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka.

At 3:15 AM a group of 21 LTTE commandos, most of them Black Tigers, who are known to be suicide bombers, attacked the air base. Shortly after the attack started the Tigers were supported by an LTTE light aircraft which conducted a bombing run on the base with limited success. 10 military personnel, including 2 Air Force officers, were killed in the attack and 22 were wounded. It was confirmed that 20 of the 21 commandos were killed. Also an Air Force Bell 212 helicopter gunship that was sent to the base to provide help crashed near the base during the clashes killing four crew members. Initially it was reported that only three aircraft were destroyed and one crashed. However the Prime Minister stated two days later that up to 8 aircraft were destroyed in the attack and another 10 were damaged, whereas the LTTE claimed to have destroyed 15 aircraft on the day of the attack. Because of this the sincerity of the government came into question. [ [http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-10/22/content_6924887.htm news.xinhuanet.com] ] [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7059661.stm news.bbc.co.uk] ]

B. Raman, a retired Additional Secretary of India and currently the Director of Institute of Topical Studies of Chennai, released a statement regarding the attack calling that it "had been preceded by painstaking intelligence collection, planning and rehearsal."

References