LTTE Underwater Vehicles Found
rhsukarsa
January 29, 2009, -- Sri Lanka Army Task Force 3 found an LTTE underwater vehicle along with 3 other smaller underwater vehicles which are still under construction from the Udayarkattukulam area in Mullaittivu yesterday morning (Jan 28). Military sources said that this was the most startling recovery made by troops so far during the on going operations against the LTTE. Three suicide boats and a large haul of LTTE maritime equipment were also found at the location , the sources added.
The sources further revealed , the largest underwater vehicle found is about 35 feet in length and amour plated. Among the other items found , there were one low bed trailer, one armour plate used for bending machines, fifteen oxy-acetylene welding cylinders, thirty armour plate sheets of 20 ft each, three pedal-type suicide boats, one Dvora-type fast attack craft, a large number of water pumps, two lorries, two buses, one truck, one heavy duty generator, one water bowzer trailer, one bowzer, filled with kerosene, two large lathe machines, two powerful compressors, one welding plant, a number of electric motors, one large lifting jack, many boats and vehicle engines, three hangar-shaped buildings of 75 ft x 15 ft each, fifteen small tiled-houses of 20 ft x 30 ft with full air conditioning and five tiled-billets of 25 ft x 100 ft with full air conditioning.
The discovery was made by the infantrymen of 4 Sri Lanka Light Infantry (4 SLLI) commanded by Major Najeewa Edirisinghe.
With this discovery the LTTE will go down in the history as the first terrorist organization to develop underwater weapons. Also, the LTTE is the first outfit to introduce suicide bombers to the world and to develop naval and air arms.
Defence observers are in the view that the LTTE has been able to come this far in warfare because of the leeway given the outfit by the international community. Until recently, the LTTE sympathizers were given opportunity to raise funds freely in the western countries to buy arms and ammo. The outfit has been able to operate a fleet of ships to smuggle arms, engage in drug trafficking and human smuggling to make money, etc, in many parts of the world. With hired hands in many international media, NGOs and various other front organizations the outfit has been able to portray itself as a liberation organization to the world and to put international pressure on the government when taking military action against it. (edited @defence.lk)
