NEW DELHI/COLOMBO, 6 September 2007 — The Indian government has taken “all necessary steps” to protect its territory from possible air attacks by Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tigers, Defense Minister A.K. Antony told Parliament yesterday. “(The) government has taken all necessary steps to safeguard its territory from any air attack,” he said in a written statement in the lower house.
“Necessary security measures are continuously reviewed, assessed and strengthened depending upon the exigencies of the situation,” the Indian minister added.
Antony’s reply came in response to a set of questions from MPs V.K. Thummar and L. Rajagopal who wanted to know if the government had assessed the rising air strike capability of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
They also wanted to know the security precautions the government had taken or proposed to take to deal with any eventuality, particularly in the southern region of the country. The LTTE has a nascent air wing that carried out two dramatic air attacks on Sri Lankan military facilities in the capital this year.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka’s military said yesterday five Tamil rebels were killed in artillery shelling and a gunbattle in the north of the island, the latest in a renewed civil war.
