Bandaranaike Airport attack

Part of the Sri Lankan Civil War

Date	July 24, 2001
Location	Bandaranaike International Airport, Sri Lanka
Result	Successful LTTE suicide commando raid (black tigers)

Belligerents

Sri Lanka Air Force

LTTE Black Tiger

Strength

1 military garrison

14 suicide commandos

Casualties and losses

7 killed, 12 wounded
Aircraft destroyed:
1 Mi-17 attack helicopter,
1 Mi-24 attack helicopter,
3 K-8 jet trainers,
2 Kfir fighter jets,
1 MiG-27 fighter jet,
3 Airbuses
Aircraft damaged:
5 K-8 jet trainers,
5 Kfir fighter jets,
1 MiG-27 fighter jet,
2 Airbuses,
1 other military aircraft

14 killed

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 mounted during its war with the Sri Lankan government, and had a profound impact on the country's military, economy, and airline industry.

Reports said that the LTTE timed the attack to coincide with the rioting of Black July in 1983, in which 1000 of Tamils were killed by Sinhalese mobs. Even though the Tamil rebellion far preceded the attack in history, this is considered the start of the Sri Lankan Civil War. The rebels launched this attack on Sri Lanka's key military target and at the time the country's only international airport.

Around 3:30 am on July 24, 14 members of the LTTE Black Tiger suicide squad infiltrated Katunayake air base, located about 35 km (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 air force planes. They were not able to attack the aircraft parked in hangars but did destroy eight military aircraft on the tarmac: three K-8 Karakorum 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. A total of 26 aircraft were either damaged or destroyed in the attack. Some of the LTTE members climbed to the top of the air base's control tower, which they used as a vantage point.

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Wikipedia