LTTE: Sri Lankan MIG-27 jet fighter shot down

[TamilNet, Monday, 30 April 2007, 14:38 GMT]
A Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) jet fighter was shot down by Liberation Tigers air-defense system when the bomber approached the airfield of the Tamileelam Air Force (TAF) in Ira'naimadu Monday around 2:30 p.m., LTTE military spokesman Irasiah Ilanthirayan said. The SLAF bomber, following a loud explosion, went down into the sea, Mr. Ilanthirayan said.

"Our auto activated air-defence-system attacked the Sri Lanka Air Force MIG-27 bomber when it approached Ira'anaimadu airfield on a bombing mission," Ilanthirayan said claiming responsibility for the attack.

The Russian made MiG-27 is a ground attack aircrat, originally built by the Mikoyan-Gurevich design bureau in the Soviet Union, and was intended to fly its missions at low altitude.

The bomber with a "crocodile nose," containing laser rangefinder, is capable of carrying large variety of bombs, unguided rockets, and missiles.

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