The Sri Lankan Navy sank four Tamil Tiger boats yesterday in a battle that left at least 26 rebels dead and struck a huge blow against the feared Sea Tiger suicide fleet, officials said.
The dead in the four-hour battle off the northeastern coast of Sri Lanka included Maran, a senior figure in the Sea Tigers, the rebels’ naval division, a government spokesman said. Maran’s boat was hit as it fled after making a failed attempt to break a navy blockade. One navy sailor died.
The Sea Tigers were developed during the 1980s to smuggle in equipment to the rebels’ ground forces but also dabbled in piracy and came to specialise in suicide missions, using fibreglass boats packed with explosives against the Navy. In February the Government claimed that it had killed Soosai, the Sea Tigers’ commander, in an air raid.
The separatist Tigers have lost a string of strongholds on the ground in fighting in recent months and are now said to be pinned down in only 8.4sq miles (22sq km) of jungle and beach in Mullaittivu district.
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