The Bandaranaike Airport attack was an assault by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on Bandaranaike International Airport, on July 24, 2001. The attack was one of the boldest the LTTE has mounted during its war with the Sri Lankan government, and had a profound impact on the country's military, economy, and airline industry. Tamil Tigers emblem The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), also known as the Tamil Tigers, is a military and political organization that has waged a violent secessionist campaign against the Sri Lankan Government since the 1970s in order to secure independence for the Tamil portions of Sri Lanka. ... Bandaranaike International Airport (IATA: CMB, ICAO: VCBI) is the busiest of Sri Lankas two international airports. ... July 24 is the 205th day (206th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 160 days remaining. ... 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Combatants Military of Sri Lanka Indian Peace Keeping Force Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam Commanders Junius Richard Jayawardene (1983-89) Ranasinghe Premadasa (1989-93) Dingiri Banda Wijetunge (1993-94) Chandrika Kumaratunga (1994-2005) Mahinda Rajapaksa (2005-present) Velupillai Prabhakaran (1983-present) Strength 111,000[1] 11,000[1] The Sri... A Boeing 747-400 belonging to Virgin Atlantic Airways, one of the UKs largest airlines. ...

Combatants Military of Sri Lanka Indian Peace Keeping Force Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam Commanders Junius Richard Jayawardene (1983-89) Ranasinghe Premadasa (1989-93) Dingiri Banda Wijetunge (1993-94) Chandrika Kumaratunga (1994-2005) Mahinda Rajapaksa (2005-present) Velupillai Prabhakaran (1983-present) Strength 111,000[1] 11,000[1] The Sri... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Navaly Church massacre or Navaly Church bombing was the result of bombing of The Church of St. ... Nagerkovil central school massacre or Nagerkovil central school bombing is the masscre of 40 minority Tamil civilians by the LTTE. Categories: | ... Allaipiddy massacres is a series of massacres of thirteen minority Tamil civilians in a spate of incidents in three villages including Allaipiddy in Velanai Tivu or Kayts Island. ... 2006 Trincomalee massacres is a series of unfolding massacres of minority Tamil civilians in the Trincomalee district of Sri lanka. ... 2006 Mannar massacres is a series of unfolding massacres of minority Tamil civilians in the island of Mannar in Sri Lanka. ...

Background

Reports said that the LTTE timed the attack to coincide with the rioting of Black July in 1983, in which thousands of Tamils were killed by Sinhalese mobs. This is considered the start of Sri Lanka's war. The rebels had warned on July 2 that they would resume attacks unless the military stopped bombing rebel positions in the north and east of the country. Location of Sri Lanka Black July is the commonly used name of the pogroms starting in Sri Lanka on July 23, 1983. ... Languages Tamil Religions Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, Jainism Related ethnic groups Dravidian people Brahui people Kannadigas Malayalis Tamils Telugus Tuluvas Gonds The Tamil people are an ethnic group from the Indian subcontinent with a recorded history going back more than two millennia. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...

The assault

Around 3:30 am on July 24, 14 members of the LTTE Black Tiger suicide squad infiltrated Katunayake air base, located about 35km (22 mi) north of Colombo. After destroying electricity transformers to plunge the base in darkness, they cut through the barbed wire surrounding the base to begin their assault. Using rocket propelled grenades, anti-tank weapons, and assault rifles, the militants attacked the air force planes. They were not able to attack the aircraft in the hangars but did destroy eight military aircraft on the tarmac: three Nanchang K-8 trainer aircraft, one Mil Mi-17 helicopter, one Mil Mi-24 helicopter, two IAI Kfir fighter jets, and a MiG-27. Five K-8s and one MiG-27 were also damaged. Some of the LTTE members climbed to the top of the air base's control tower to survey the scene to use as a vantage point. ^[1] The Black Tigers are special operatives of the LTTE that commit suicide if needed to reach their objectives. ... Katunayake a town is situated on the west coast of the island of Sri Lanka close to the commercial capital of Colombo. ... Map of Colombo with its administrative districts Coordinates: District Colombo District Government  - Mayor Uvaiz Mohammad Imitiyaz (Sri Lanka Freedom Party) Area  - City 37. ... A rocket propelled grenade (RPG) is a man-portable, shoulder-launched weapon capable of firing an explosive device longer distances than an otherwise unassisted soldier could throw. ... Anti-tank, or simply AT, refers to any method of combating military armored fighting vehicles, notably tanks. ... The AK-47 is the worlds most common assault rifle. ... Hangars can be used to hold airplanes, airships and helicopters. ... The Hongdu JL-8 (or Nanchang JL-8) is a two-seat trainer aircraft built by joint-cooperation between Pakistan and the Peoples Republic of China. ... Mil Mi-17 The Mil Mi-17 (Also known as the Mi-8MT, NATO reporting name Hip-H) is a Russian helicopter currently in production at two factories in Kazan and Ulan-Ude. ... The Mil Mi-24 is a large combat helicopter gunship and low-capacity troop transport operated from 1976 by the Soviet Air Force, its successors, and over thirty other nations. ... The Israel Aircraft Industries Kfir (Hebrew: כפיר, Lion Cub) is an Israeli-built all-weather, multi-role combat aircraft based on a modified Dassault Mirage 5 airframe, with Israeli avionics and an Israeli-made version of the General Electric J79 turbojet engine. ... The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-27 (NATO reporting name Flogger) is a ground attack aircraft, originally built by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union and later licence-produced in India by Hindustan Aeronautics as the Bahadur (Valiant). It is based on the MiG-23 fighter aircraft, but optimized...

Eight Tigers and three air force officers died in the battle at the air base. The six remaining LTTE members then crossed the runway to nearby Bandaranaike Airport. Using their weapons, they began blowing up any civilian aircraft they could find, which were all empty. One Airbus A340 was destroyed by an explosive charge; an A330 was destroyed by a rocket fired from the control tower. In addition, two A320s and an A-330 were damaged in the assault. ^[2] The Airbus A340 is a long-range four-engined widebody commercial passenger airliner manufactured by Airbus S.A.S. a subsidiary of EADS. It is similar in design to the twin-engined A330. ... The Airbus A330 is a large-capacity, wide-body, medium-to-long-range commercial passenger airliner manufactured by EADS (Airbus S.A.S.). It was developed at the same time as the four-engined A340. ... The control tower at Schiphol airport. ... The Airbus A320 is a short-to-medium range commercial passenger aircraft manufactured by Airbus. ...

The attack was over by 8:30 am. All 14 guerrillas were killed, along with six Sri Lankan air force personnel and one soldier killed by friendly fire. 12 soldiers were injured, along with three Sri Lankan civilians and a Russian engineer. ^[3] No foreign tourists were harmed during the attack.

The two Airbuses destroyed constituted two of SriLankan Airlines' 12 aircraft. The three other damaged aircraft meant that a third of the Airlines' planes were out of commission. SriLankan Airlines is the national carrier of Sri Lanka. ...

Effects

Bandaranaike Airport was closed for 14 hours during and after the attack. Flights were diverted to India during the assault due to the threat of attack. The cost of replacing the military aircraft was estimated at $350 million USD, half of the Sri Lankan military budget. The attack caused a slowdown in the economy of Sri Lanka, to about 2.5%. Tourism also plummeted, dropping 15.5% at the end of the year. This was exacerbated by the September 11 attacks. ^[4] Tourists on Oʻahu, Hawaii Tourism is travel for predominantly recreational or leisure purposes, and also refers to the provision of services in support of this act. ... The World Trade Center on fire The September 11, 2001 attacks were a series of coordinated terrorist attacks against the United States on September 11, 2001. ...

References

1. ^ Intelligence failures exposed by Tamil Tiger airport attack. Jane's Intelligence Review (2001). Retrieved on June 3, 2006.
2. ^ LTTE Attack Paralyzes Sri Lanka's International Airport. The Institute for Counter-Terrorism (2001). Retrieved on June 3, 2006.
3. ^ Intelligence failures exposed by Tamil Tiger airport attack. Jane's Intelligence Review (2001). Retrieved on June 3, 2006.
4. ^ Growth In Sri Lanka To Rise In 2002. Asian Development Bank (2001). Retrieved on June 3, 2006.

June 3 is the 154th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (155th in leap years), with 211 days remaining. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... June 3 is the 154th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (155th in leap years), with 211 days remaining. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... June 3 is the 154th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (155th in leap years), with 211 days remaining. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... June 3 is the 154th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (155th in leap years), with 211 days remaining. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ...

External links

• Key Sri Lankan air base attacked
• Rebel Attack on Airport Shocks Leaders of Sri Lanka
• Armed Struggle for Tamil - Katunayake Airport Attack, 2001