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The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam fired four mortar shells Feb. 27, injuring the Italian and U.S. ambassadors to Sri Lanka as they were visiting parts of Eastern Province on a humanitarian mission. The shells were fired at an air force base at Batticaloa at about 8:45 a.m. local time. Italian Ambassador Prio Marini suffered minor shrapnel wounds to the head and was taken to a hospital, whereas U.S. Ambassador Robert Blake sustained only minor injuries and was treated on site. The ambassadors were among seven foreign diplomats accompanied by Sri Lanka's human rights minister and were touring an area that Sri Lankan forces had recently wrested from the rebels.
The Tigers are an extremely sophisticated militant organization with excellent intelligence and surveillance on this specific air force base and on the movements of Sri Lankan diplomats in general. That said, it does not appear that the Tigers intended to attack the Western diplomats. The rebels likely thought they were targeting a large Sri Lankan military delegation. The envoys probably were traveling in Bell-412 and Bell 412EP helicopters, which are used for conveying VIPs. These helicopters have clear Sri Lankan air force markings, giving the Tigers good identifiers for attack targets.
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