Lankan navy foils possible rebel attack on Colombo's port

Colombo: Sri Lanka's military prevented a possible Tamil Tiger rebel attack on Colombo's port early on Saturday when three suspicious boats were detected and destroyed by air and naval forces, a Defense Ministry official said.

"Navy foils an LTTE attack at Colombo harbour, one LTTE boat destroyed at 5:30 am," the defence ministry said in an initial statement on its website, before later reporting the other two boats had also been sunk.

The boats did not stop when ordered to do so, forcing the navy to fire at them, said Lt. Col. Upali Rajapakse, a senior official at the ministry's media unit.

"The navy managed to destroy one of the boats and later the air force came in to help and completed the mission," Rajapakse said.

The three suspected rebel boats had entered a «high security zone» where no unauthorized vessels are allowed, Rajapakse said. They were noticed by a guard at a light house who alerted a naval patrol.

The first boat was destroyed about 10 kilometers off the coast, one 18 kilometres away, and another 23 kilometres at sea, Rajapakse said, adding that no naval vessels suffered damage.

Residents reported hearing gunfire near the southern end of the port's high security zone. Casualty figures for the sunken ships were not immediately known, he said.

Colombo's port is an important lifeline for the island country. Police said there was confusion on Saturday because authorities had also planned security manoeuvres, with many believing the firing was part of a drill.

Tight security at the port was further stepped up with the employees allowed in after a thorough search, they said.

Rebels from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam have been fighting since 1983 to establish an independent homeland in the north and east for Sri Lanka's ethnic minority Tamils, following decades of discrimination by the Sinhalese-dominated government.

A 2002 truce is still officially in effect, but has virtually collapsed since the resurgence of large-scale fighting last year that left more than 3,600 people dead.

Earlier daring attacks

October 2006: Tamil Tigers staged a kamikaze-style seaborne attack against the southern naval port of Galle, killing a sailor and a civilian and damaging several naval craft.

April 1996: Rebels entered the Colombo port , damaging foreign ships with rocket-propelled grenades, but the guerrilla craft was blown out of the water by port security men before they could cause major damage.

July 2001: The Tigers staged an even bigger attack on the island's only international airport near here, destroying six civilian jets on the tarmac and blowing up over a dozen military aircraft parked at the adjoining air base.