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COLOMBO: Sri Lanka Tamil Tiger rebels Saturday sank a merchant vessel while it was moored at the island's east coastal town of Trincomalee, hours before the government held elections in the area.
The guerrillas said their Sea Tigers underwater naval commandos launched a pre-dawn attack while it was loaded with explosives to be transported for troops operating in the island's north.
"Commandos from Kangkai Amaran unit of the Sea Tigers took part in the naval mission in destroying the 80-metre long vessel," the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said.
The Sri Lanka navy said the "MV Invicible" A-520 logistic vessel sank when an underwater explosion ripped through it, while it was moored at the Ashroff jetty in Trincomalee harbour.
"No lives were lost due to the explosion," the defence ministry statement said.
Under a million residents in Batticaloa, Trincomalee and Ampara will cast their ballots on Saturday to elect officials to run the eastern provincial council.
Built in the 1970's, A-520 was a merchant vessel was handed over to the Sri Lankan Navy, following a court order after it was apprehended while transporting 254 illegal migrants off eastern coast in Tangalle in 2003.
Tens of thousands have died since the Tamil Tiger rebels launched a separatist campaign in 1972, to carve out a homeland for minority Tamils in the island's north and east. - AFP/ac
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