concrete
alte Esel
- Член од
- 22 март 2005
- Мислења
- 12.248
- Поени од реакции
- 1.703
Forget counter-insurgency aircraft for a moment, let's talk about insurgency aircraft. The Tamil Tigers launched what is being described as an "unprecdented" raid against a Sri Lankan air force base. The raid involved attacks by air and land, according to press reports:
Rebels flying light aircraft bombed the Anuradhapura air base, 210 kilometres north of the capital, Colombo, before dawn yesterday, killing nine serviceman and wounding 20 others and damaging two stationary Mi-24 helicopter gunships, the Defence Ministry said.
Four other airmen were killed when a helicopter, flown in as back-up, crashed due to a technical fault, the ministry said.
Other military sources said two fixed-wing planes were also hit. Twenty rebel fighters were killed during the gunbattle, the Government said. The Tiger aircraft escaped.
"This is the first time the Tigers have combined both air and ground attacks in a raid," a rebel military spokesman, Rasiah Ilanthiraiyan, said from the Tigers' northern de facto capital of Kilinochchi.
He said 21 Black Tiger suicide fighters took part in the ground assault, making it the biggest operation by the suicide unit since 1987.
The Tamil Tigers, who are believed to fly Czech-made light aircraft, are often described as the world's first insurgency to have an Air Force. They also have a naval wing. The first Tiger air raid took place earlier this year. At that time, BBC quoted a military spokesman saying, "Definitely this is not a major threat and it will be neutralised."
http://blog.wired.com/defense/2007/10/insurgent-air-f.html
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