This morning a flight of Tamil Tiger dissidents in two light strike aircraft attacked Sri Lanka's international airport north of Colombo (CMB). Expatriates living nearby reported that gunfire and loud explosions started before dawn Monday. One very loud explosion was heard from the Sri Lankan Air Force Base (Katunayake) which is in the compound at CMB. At least three airmen were killed and seventeen others were injured in the surprise attack by the previously unknown air force of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The LTTE attack comes amidst recent escalation in the two decades old war. That conflict has claimed over 68,000 dead since 1983. All flights into and out of CMB have been suspended and passengers on aircraft have been evacuated into the airport terminal building. They included a Singapore airlines flight (SQ) that was scheduled to depart at 0110L and a Cathay Flight (CX700). According to sources the SQ flight got away over 4 hours late at 0530 however the Cathay passengers and crew were escorted to downtown hotels. Cathay has suspended all flights into or out of CMB until the security situation becomes clearer.

The Tamil Tigers' last suicide attack on Bandaranaike International Airport was on 24 Jul 2001. Sappers destroyed more than a dozen military aircraft plus two A330, one A340 and one A320 at the civilian terminal. The greater damage was to the economy and tourism however. At least 4000 have been killed in the new wave of fighting since 2005. Supposedly a truce has been in place since 2002.