Sri Lankan begins probe in to suicide sinking of gunboat

Mar.26 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s navy Sunday began a probe into a Tamil rebel attack on a gunboat that left eight sailors missing, presumed dead, military officials said. The defence ministry said the gunboat was blown out of the water as it approached a suspected Tamil Tiger trawler off the island’s northwestern coast on Saturday.

“There is a probe underway to establish how the gunboat was hit,” a defence official said.

“The initial report from the navy is that six Tigers on the trawler blasted themselves and the impact of that explosion sank the gunboat.
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The gunboat was on a mission to check gun running in the area, officials said.

The ministry said the sinking of the navy craft was a violation of a truce arranged by Sri Lanka’s peace broker Norway and lodged a complaint with the Scandinavian ceasefire monitors.

“The suicide-style explosion carried out by the crew of the trawler causing damage to a naval vessel and claiming the lives of navy personnel is a violation of the ceasefire,” the defence ministry said in a statement.

Eleven sailors were rescued by local fishermen.

In January, suspected Tamil Tiger rebels blew up a simila