by Norman Palihawadana
Defence authorities want to know how Monday’s LTTE artillery attack on the Palaly air base coincided with the arrival of a chopper carrying senior defence officials.
The chopper carrying Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse, Army Commander Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka and Air Chief Marshall Donald Perera, who were due to attend a launching ceremony in Jaffna, was forced to return to Colombo by the attack.
Defence spokesman Arjuna Hulugalle told The Island that it was possible that the terrorists had been tipped off by a spy at the Katunayake or Ratmalana airports.
He said the LTTE had not attacked the Palaly base for a very long time and for them to have fired their artillery from a position at Kalmunai Point in Pooneryn, particularly on Monday, pointed to the fact they had prior information of the visit of the top defence team.
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