A-520, post mortem

Naval intelligence sources reveal that no motorized torpedo units were used by Black Sea Tigers at yesterday's underwater human torpedo attack. They believe the Tiger frogmen/women swam towards A-520 with explosives strapped to their body, possibly from the nearby Kadawana area.

The Tigers had earlier devised improvised limpet mines that can be magnetically attached to a ships hull. yesterday's explosions seem to have come from at least one simultaneous and significant blast underneath the submerged hull of A-520. In that case, limpet mines seem unlikely. It is now believed that explosives strapped to human 'torpedoes' may have been detonated in an underwater-demolition (UDT) type of an attack.

This type of attack is not uncommon. In fact, it had been used several times against immobile vessels, specially around Trincomalee at least one previous occasion. The remains of a female frogwoman who blew-up a gunboat moored at Trincomalee harbour in the 1990s is still on display at the Trincomalee Naval Museum. The woman, four months pregnant at the time, had clung onto the hull of the gunboat and detonated explosives strapped on to her.

Last week, Military Intelligence units in Trincomalee and Batticaloa arrested 18 highly trained Tigers sent to launch devastating attacks (some of which are suicide attacks) prior to, during or after yesterday's Provincial Council elections. A total of 24 such cadres had been sent, 6 of whom were at large by last evening. It is believed that some these cadres may have attacked A-520.

The cadres arrested included females. Some had entered government areas through Omanthai while others have been dropped by boat north of Trincomalee. Some members had posed-off as couples. They have also been tasked to plant claymores and fire RPGs at any given target of opportunity. The cadres had obtained their weapons from weapons dumps in Peraru Jungles that were hidden by retreating LTTE units after the fall of the East.

Trincomalee is under the purview of the Sri Lanka Navy. Military Intelligence (Army) expressed concern that some Naval Intelligence officers in Trincomalee were continuing to obtaining bribes from known Tiger contacts in Trincomalee. They claimed errant officers caught red-handed some time ago were released following the Navy Commander's direct interference.