Date:21/12/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/12/21/stories/2008122154351200.htm

International

LTTE ship destroyed

B. Muralidhar Reddy

COLOMBO: The Navy on Saturday claimed to have destroyed a “medium-size” LTTE logistics vessel 70 nautical miles northeast of Mullathivu.

A statement by the Navy said, in a separate confrontation off Mullathivu, the Navy intercepted a cluster of LTTE boats and destroyed four vessels, which were attempting to support the logistics vessel. “The medium-size enemy logistics vessel had been detected by the Navy’s Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs) on surveillance mission around 0130 hours and subsequently, the Navy’s patrol craft were deployed to intercept and destroy the enemy logistics vessel. In the ensuing naval fire that lasted for around 30 minutes, the enemy logistics vessel was completely destroyed. It is believed that the enemy vessel was carrying a large quantity of war-like materials to the LTTE since it sank engulfed in a ball of fire under the heavy naval fire,” it said.