India worried at LTTE's air prowess

'India had expressed concern over Tigers' air capability in 2005'.

A day after the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) marked the official debut of the Tamil Eelam Air Force (TAF) by attacking an air base in Sri Lanka, Indian security agencies appeared worried about a non-state air power in its vicinity.

The TAF's existence has not been a secret but its use has taken everyone by surprise.

Sources in Indian security agencies said the fact that the LTTE could avoid radar detection to reach Colombo, attack an air base and return safely was a "matter of concern for India."

While officially, India continues to maintain a discreet silence, the security establishment is worried. "India had expressed concern over this air capability in May 2005 to the Sri Lankan Monitoring Mission (SLMM). We will now undertake a review of our own strategic establishments," said a senior source in the defence ministry.

The LTTE said that the formation of the air wing (Vaanpuligal) was the work of Shankar alias Vythialingam Sornalingam.

He was an aeronautical engineer with Air Canada and held an engineering degree in aeronautics from Hindustan Engineering College in Tamil Nadu. While Shankar is no more, he is said to have done the ground work for the formation of the Air Tigers.

The aircraft used in the attack are Czech-made with local fixtures attached to the frame to allow automatic weapon discharge of four gravity bombs. Indian security agencies suspect that these aircraft were dismantled and reassembled in north-eastern Sri Lanka.

"This was possible only due to the network between the LTTE and other terror outfits operating transportation over sea routes," said a source.

LTTE's military spokesperson Irasiah Ilathiraiyan confirmed that the LTTE used two aircraft for the attack. He said the move was aimed at preventing further attacks on civilian areas in the LTTE-controlled north-eastern Sri Lanka.