Top Tamil Tiger dies of heart attack say Sri Lanka rebels

by Sanjay Jha | May 21, 2008 at 01:04 am | 152 views | add comment

A senior rebel tamil leader has died of heart attack giving a big blow to rebel movement. Balraj, rebel leader, was the second leader to be conferred the rank of "brigadier" by the LTTE leadership, after its former head of the political wing S. P. Tamilselvem. 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.

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 in areas under their control, 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."