Two merchant ship attacked by rebels in Sri Lanka
22/10/2008 17:21
Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels damaged a merchant ship this morning in a
suicide attack against two ships carrying supplies to war-affected civilians in
the north sea, defense officials said.
Defense officials said the rebel
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) carried out the suicide attack targeting
Merchant Ship Ruhuna and Nimalawa in the north sea off Kankasanturai at 5: 10
a.m. (2340 GMT).
Navy spokesman D. K. P. Dassanayke said three LTTE suicide
vessels have come for the attack.
"Navy sailors providing security onboard
the targeted vessels have engaged machine gun fire at the approaching suicide
boats effectively, and destroyed two of them before ramming on the ships, "
Dassanayke said.
However, he added that one of the suicide boats exploded in
close proximity to Merchant Ship Nimalawa causing a considerable damage to the
ship's hull.
The spokesman said that the third suicide craft has been
captured by navy boats and at least six rebels might have been killed in the
attack.
The government said the two ships were carrying essential suppliers
to the civilians living in war-affected areas in the north when they were
attacked.
Government troops and the LTTE are battling in the north, with
military leaders vowing to completely defeat the organization in the near
future.
Just two more rebel strongholds in the north remain to be captured by
the troops in their campaign.
Claiming discrimination at the hands of
Sinhalese-dominated governments, the LTTE has been fighting for an independent
Tamil home land in the north and east for more than two decades, resulting in
the killing of more than 70,000 people.
Xinhua
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