Reaction
The Ministry of Defence released footage taken from an infrared Sri Lanka Navy surveillance camera of the aircraft crashing into the IRD building (see full video on YouTube). Meanwhile, the LTTE released pictures of who they claimed were the two cadres who flew the two aircraft, posing with the leader of the LTTE Velupillai Prabhakaran. They also released a letter allegedly written by one of the cadres urging other Tamils to join the LTTE and fight Sri Lanka.
| " This incident is not a hit and run one. It is a full fledged suicide mission, whereby both aircraft had explosives and ammunition attached to the underside. It was in the end however a failed mission." |
| —Sri Lanka military spokesman Udaya Nanayakkara |
There was concern among Sri Lankan media as to why the aircraft weren't intercepted before reaching the capital. An Air Force spokesman said since the Tamil Tiger craft were flying at extremely low height of around 300 feet (91 m), it was impossible for the fighter aircraft of the Air Force to engage them. He said that instead the Air Force was ready to shoot down the planes using anti-aircraft guns when they reached Colombo.
The military believes that the target of the first plane was either the Sri Lanka Air Force Headquarters, which was adjacent to the Inland Revenue Department building, or the President's House or Army Headquarters, which were also in the area. However after the aircraft was hit, the pilot lost control and crashed into the IRD building. The second aircraft is believed to have targeted aircraft hangars at the Air Force base at Katunayake. Given the amount of explosives packed inside the aircraft, there could have been severe devastation if they hit their targets.
Although the Tamil Tigers claimed in a statement that they had launched successful air raids against Sri Lanka Air Force installations, the attacks are largely seen as failures. However they did send out a message that the Tamil Tigers were still capable of launching attacks against Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan government called the attacks a "desperate attempt by the LTTE to bring it into the limelight at a time when it was facing a disgraceful defeat" on the battlefield, and a spokesman said "any terrorist organization would not use their most priced military asset on a destructive mission until the very end".
Read more about this topic: 2009 Suicide Air Raid On Colombo
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