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TAMIL TIGERS INDICATE THEY WILL CONTINUE USING SUICIDE BOMBERS AND DECLARE THEY ARE ‘INDISPENSABLE ARSENAL’

By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, (LTTE) that has been proscribed as a terrorist group in all major countries in the world today defied the ban by declaring that "Black Tigers are a indispensable arsenal” of them by assuring suicide bombing would continue to be their method of destruction both against civilian and military targets in the time to come.

The assuarance came from S.Elilan, Trincomalee district political head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) addressing a Black Tigers Day celebrations held June 5, in Kathiraveli in Vaharai division, in the Eastern Province of the island, LTTE sources said.

The LTTE leader was quoted in the in the Tamil Tiger controlled website, the Tamil Net as saying that the horrid method of suicide bombers, known as “Black Tigers” was an indispensable arsenal in what they called in their freedom struggle. The LTTE is fighting to carve out a separate state called Tamil Eelam in the Indian Ocean republic of Sri Lanka.

The terrorist group is holding celebrations in certain places in the island’s Northern and Eastern provinces to celebrate the deaths of 273 Black Tiger suicide bombers, they claim have given their lives , since its inception 19 years ago. Their first suicide bomber known as Captain Miller drove an explosive laden truck in to a Northen Sri Lankan military camp at Nelliady killing nearly 50 soldiers in 1987 .

The symbol of the feared Black Tigers, the élite suicide organisation of the Sri Lankan Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The LTTE has been responsible for the largest number of suicide bombing operations. All pictures R Gunaratna

Known as Karum Pullikal in Tamil they have killed civilian political leaders , including Former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, Sri Lankan President Ranasinghe Premadasa, the United National Party's presidential candidate Gamini Dissanayake, defense minister Ranjan Wijeratne and industries minister C V Goonaratne. They have also killed Tamil moderates, such as member of parliament Neelan Thiruchelvam, a prominent Tamil lawyer.

It has been the usual practice of LTTE leaders like S.P. Thamil Chelvan to deny any involvement of the LTTE just after certain assassinations using them. But reports indicate on every anniversary day they honor the very Black Tiger assassins with whom they denied of having any connections with. For fiteen years the LTTE denied of having any connection with the Rajiv Gandhi assassination. But recently a LTTE leader over a TV interview apologized for the killing.

The LTTE has perfected the art of suicide bomb technology. Their suicide bomb apparatus has been found to be so efficient that some of the world’s leading terrorist organizations like Al-Qaida, Hezbollah, Hamas and the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade have been allowed to copy the design of the Tamil Tiger suicide jacket for friendly exchange of weapons by the group.

A jacket containing plastic explosives with two pull cords - one to arm the device, the other to detonate it. Such a device would be worn under the outer garments of the suicide bomber

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