14.9.2008
Walter Jayawardhana

Pro-Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) website the Tamil Net announced that the Tamil Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran paid his last respects to ten Black Tiger suicide bombers who died in a mostly unsuccessful military attack on the Sri Lanka military airport at Vavuniya.

Velupillai Prabhakaran, 53, garlanded photographs of the 10 "Black Tiger" suicide bombers at an undisclosed location in the northern Wanni region on Friday, September 12, the website reported .

Since the government's offensive against the LTTE stronghold of Kilinochchi this was a rare occasion the important propaganda arm website reported about the activities of the LTTE chief who is reportedly living in an underground bunker to protect himself from the air raids against all important buildings of the group. The garlanding of pictures is believed to have taken place in an underground bunker.

Five women suicide bombers were among those 11 terrorists who were killed in the unsuccessful bid to attack the Vavuniya military airport and destroy the Radar system installed there.

The LTTE uses Black Tigers as a last resort to fight the Sri Lankan security forces. The Black Tigers suicide squad consists of former child soldiers who had been systematically brainwashed to become suicide bombers. Before they are sent on a suicide mission they partake a final meal with their elusive leader Velupillai Prabhakaran.

The suicide jackets they wear are said to be advanced and the technology of which has been reportedly transferred to the Middle Eastern suicide groups for a price. Among several other politicians their most famous victim has been the former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.