Sri Lanka Navys elite Special Boat Squadron (SBS) and Fast Attack Craft (FAC) destroyed six (06) LTTE sea tiger boats killing twenty-five (25) sea tigers in the seas of Mullaithivu around 0430 hours today (29th April 2009).
The vigilant Naval troops engaged a combined cluster of sea tiger suicide and attack craft on their launching pad located in the No Fire Zone while attempting to set off on an attack mission on the advancing ground troops in the early hours of today. Four suicide craft laden with high explosives and two enemy attack craft mounted with higher caliber weapons were destroyed in the Naval gun fire forestalling their desperate mission.
One "Arrow" craft of the SLN was slightly damaged and five sailors received minor injuries in the incident. During the search and clear operations conducted, a dead body of a female Sea Tiger cadre was recovered.
The round-the-clock vigilance maintained by alert Naval troops on continuous Naval patrol close to the now-fast-diminishing enemy stronghold, has been instrumental in thwarting LTTEs last-ditch desperate sea tiger attacks on ground troops. The Navys patrol craft have recently been able to inflict heavy enemy cadre and vessel losses on the LTTE sea tigers on four consecutive occasions.
Sri Lanka Navy maintains continuous Naval surveillance and patrolling in the North- eastern seas. Naval fortifications have been tightened with multiple defence barriers consisting of Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs), Fast Gun Boats (FGBs), Fast Attack Craft (FACs), the Rapid Action Boat Squadron (RABS) and the Special Boat Squadron (SBS). Continuous shore-based radar surveillance is also being carried out in order to compliment Naval units to prevent remaining LTTE cadres from launching desperate attacks on advancing Security Forces personnel and to cut off the fleeing attempts of tiger leaders trapped in the NO Fire Zone.
