Sri Lanka police link LTTE for a plane crash after 12 years

The Terrorism Investigation Department (TID) of Sri Lanka police has reopened a case pertaining to a plane crash that happened 12 years ago. Sri Lanka police spokesman Superintendent of Police Ajith Rohana said
the plane crash earlier suspected as an accident was a result of a missile attack by the Tamil Tiger terrorists. The Antanov aircraft crashed into a jungle in the Weerawewa area in Anuradhapura on March 30, 2000, while transporting security personnel and police officers from Jaffna to Colombo, killing all of its passengers and the four Russian pilots. At the time it was believed that the crash was due to an engine failure. Two cadres of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE) arrested recently from Kilinochchi have confessed to firing missiles at the aircraft causing the AN-26 to crash. During extensive interrogation they had admitted to firing surface-to-air missiles, from the Wilpattu forest area. The police had been able to recover two shell casings of the used missiles from the area, the police spokesman has said. Following the revelation, the suspects have been produced before the Anuradhapura Magistrate today. The case will be heard again on April 23. The TID is conducting further investigations.