Black Tigers
The Black Tigers () was an elite suicide commando unit of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a militant Tamil separatist organization. They were specially selected and trained LTTE cadres whose missions included mounting suicide attacks, military and political targets, among them Sri Lankan President Ranasinghe Premadasa and former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. Since their formation in 1987 until the defeat of the Tamil Tigers in 2009, more than 330 Black Tigers made suicide attacks on air, land and sea, mostly in Sri Lanka. History. The first Black Tiger was Vallipuram Vasanthan, who drove a small truck  laden with explosives into a Sri Lanka Army (SLA) camp in Nelliady, Jaffna peninsula, on 5 July 1987 during the Battle of Nelliady, killing himself and between 39 and 100 Sri Lankan soldiers. Immediately afterwards, regular LTTE cadres followed up, overwhelming the stunned SLA soldiers. This was a hugely effective retaliatory attack using explosives from the Indian Research and Analysis Wing after the Sri Lankan Army's Operation Liberation had been halted under pressure from the Government of India and the subsequent signing of the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord During the earlier phase of the Tamil Tigers' military campaign, it  did not possess the heavy conventional weapons required to attack large camps. To mount such an attack, costly weapons such as artillery pieces, missiles, and fighter-bombers would have been needed – weapons that the LTTE could not afford to purchase. As a result, they decided to resort to asymmetric warfare, creating a special wing to make up for their inadequate weaponry. Consequently, it is not the act itself—killing by suicide—that was the Black Tigers' original or even main aim, but rather the military impact and its strategic consequences. After 18 May 2009, following the death of LTTE leader  Velupillai Prabhakaran, the Black Tigers ceased to exist, along with other LTTE fighting formations. Notable attacks. In May 1991, a female LTTE cadet blew herself up, killing former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, along with 16 civilians. On 1 May 1993, a male Black Tiger assassinated Sri Lankan President Ranasinghe Premadasa and 23 others during a May Day parade. On 24 October 1994, the then leader of opposition and Member of Parliament Gamini Dissanayake and five Ministers, several politicians, military and other security personnel were assassinated in a suicide attack carried by a female Black Tiger. On 16 November 1992 , a Black Tiger assassinated Admiral Clancy Fernando by driving an explosives laden motorbike into his staff car while he was on his way to naval headquarters at Flagstaff Street in the Galle Buck from his official residence "Navy House" at Longden Place, Colombo after he returned from India after discussing Indo-Sri Lankan naval cooperation. He is the highest ranking officer in the Sri Lankan Armed Forces to be killed by the LTTE. On 14 May 1998, a Black Tiger assassinated Major General Larry Wijeratne on the last day of his duty assignment in Valvettithurai, Jaffna. Wijeratne was attending a  Jaffna traders' felicitation lunch just before leaving on transfer as deputy commandant of the Kotelawela Defence Academy before he was killed. On July 2001, an elite unit of 14 Black Tigers attacked Bandaranaike International Airport, causing an estimated of US$350 million worth of damage to military and civilian aircraft. Tourism in Sri Lanka sharply dropped after the incident. On 26 June 2006, a Black Tiger assassinated Lieutenant General Parami Kulatunga by driving an explosives-laden motorbike into his Peugeot 406 staff car at Panipitiya as he was on his way to army headquarters from his official quarters at the  Panagoda Cantonment. He is the highest ranking army officer to be assassinated by the LTTE. On 22 October 2007, an elite unit of 21 Black Tigers raided the country's second largest airbase in the heart of the Sinhala cultural capital, Anuradhapura. The government suffered an estimate of $40 million USD worth of damages to military aircraft. On 6 April 2008, Minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle was assassinated by a Black Tiger who exploded himself at the start of a marathon race which was part of the Sinhala and Tamil New Year celebration in Weliveriya town. Fernandopulle had been infamous for  his ardent nationalistic stance favouring the Sinhala Buddhist majority and had strongly justified the forced eviction of Tamils from Colombo lodges in June 2007. Addressing the media the minister said there was no need for the Prime Minister to express regret over the move and insisted that all 300 Tamils were sent to Vavuniya after getting their 'verbal consent' in Colombo and subsequently written consent in Vavuniya. On 9 September 2008, an elite unit of 10 Black Tigers raided the joint headquarters of the Sri Lankan Armed Forces in Vanni, situated in Vavuniyaa town. According to the casualty figures released  by the Sri Lankan military sources, 9 Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers, 2 Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) personnel and 1 policemen were killed and 26 wounded. The Black Tigers also destroyed the communication facility with its tower, engineering facility, and the anti-aircraft weapon and ammunition stores. On 6 October 2008, retired Major General Janaka Perera was killed by a Black Tiger who exploded his suicide-vest after embracing the minister during a political rally in Anuradhapura. He served as the Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Army and is considered one of the most distinguished generals in  Sri Lankan history. Black Tigers were drawn from the ranks of the LTTE's elite fighting formations. Those who wanted to join wrote letters to Velupillai Prabhakaran, the founder and leader of the LTTE. According to the LTTE, Prabhakaran evaluated the applications, examining the applicant's particular skills, the kinds of missions he or she had been involved in, their motivations and their family situations. All these factors were considered in deciding whether he or she could become a Black Tiger. Those who were the only living child in their family were automatically disqualified from joining. Modus operandi. Up to  the defeat of the LTTE, the Black Tigers carried out 100 to 200 missions. The Black Tigers operated in three distinct ways: conventional combat on land and at sea, guerrilla attacks, and assassinations or bombings. The majority of these attacks involved military objectives in the north and east of the country. Relatively, there were fewer operations in the south, where most of the Sinhalese live, especially in the capital city, Colombo, although such attacks often engaged high-profile targets and attracted much international publicity as a result. The last such attack was on government politicians during a Muslim festival. Black