Tuesday, May 20, 2008 - 19:30
AFP News Briefs ListTop Tamil Tiger dies of heart attack say Sri Lanka rebels
A senior leader of Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels died of a sudden heart attack on Tuesday in the guerrilla-held northern regions of the country, a pro-rebel website said.
Brigadier Balraj, a commander of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), led the rebels' conventional fighting unit that has carried out repeated attacks on Sri Lankan troops, it said.
The rebels did not give Balraj's real name or his age, but said they have declared three days of mourning, starting Wednesday.
"Brigadier Balraj, a senior and a special commander of the LTTE, passed away Tuesday," the Tamilnet website said.
"He was an expert on different forms of warfare, including psychological operations, and deployed different tactics during the planning and the conduct of the operations."
The LTTE have been fighting for an independent homeland since 1972, aiming to carve out a separate state for minority Tamils in the island's north and east.
Balraj made use of a truce pact between the government and the LTTE to have heart surgery in Singapore in 2003.
Colombo pulled out of the six-year truce in January, as it felt it had the upper hand to crush the rebels.
Tens of thousands have died on both sides in over three decades of fighting, in one of Asia's longest-running civil wars.
Images
This undated file photograph taken from TamilNet, shows Brigadier Balraj, a senior and a special commander of the Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE), who passed away of a sudden heart attack in Vanni, LTTE's Head Quarters said.
© 2007 AFP
