6TH LEAD (WFP hostel and FORUT office damaged)
SLAF bombs VoT radio station in Vanni, 11 killed, 15 wounded
[TamilNet, Tuesday, 27 November 2007, 11:56 GMT]
Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) Kfir bombers Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. attacked the Voice of Tigers (VoT) broadcast station located at 155 Mile Post, 3.5 km south of Ki'linochchi. Three editorial staff workers at the station and eight civilians, residents and travelers near the station were killed in the attack. 15 civilians, including four editorial staff, wounded in the attack were admitted to Ki'linochchi hospital. A hostel belonging to World Food Programme (WFP) was fully destroyed. The Vanni office of FORUT and a library of Ki'linochchi Pradeshiya Sabah were damaged in the airstrike. A bomb hit the A9 Road. 17 civilian houses in the vicinity were attacked, 8 houses have sustained heavy damage.
A hostel belonging to World Food Programme (WFP) was fully destroyed.
The Vanni office of FORUT was damaged
A library of Ki'linochchi Pradeshiya Sabah was damaged
The radio, which was scheduled to broadcast LTTE leader's annual policy address, continued its service from a fallback facility, an official of the LTTE Political Division told TamilNet.
The three editorial staff killed in the attack were identified as Isaivizhi Chempiyan (also known as Subajini, a former Ozhiveechchu news presenter), Suresh Linbiyo, a technical desk worker and T. Tharmalingam.
Radio presenters K. Jenanai, 34, and Anparasi Rajkumar were wounded in the attack. Two other staff workers sustained minor injuries.
Three civilians killed in the nearby houses were identified as Tharmalingam Thavamanithevi, 60, mother of three, Anandarajah Theyvanayaki, 55, from Jaffna and Irasalingam Pradeepan, 22.
Three other civilians killed while traveling on the nearby main road were identified as Karuppiah Piriyatharsan, 19, from Chaanthapuram, Ampaa'lku'lam in Ki'linochchi, Selvanathan Sivakumar, 46, from Thirunakar (owner of Kumaran textiles in Ki'linochchi town), Thiyagarajah Maheswaran, 28, from Muththaiyankaddu.
Two of the slain travelers, an old woman and a young lady, were yet to be identified, according to Ki'linochchi hospital sources.
A 4-year-old boy, G. Manoj and his mother G. Stella, 35, 6-year-old girl S. Pavithra, 10-year-old Ariharan, Pavanithi, 24, Gunaseeli, 29, Nirmalathevi, 54, Maheswari, 57, Kavitha, 29, Uthayakumar, 42, and Thineskumar, 21, were the civilians wounded in the attack.
More than 12 bombs were dropped on the station and the nearby houses.
Three shops, located opposite the radio station, were fully destroyed. Six shops located in the nearby junction have also sustained damage.
Despite the air raid, people were seen flocking to war cemeteries to pay homage to the fallen heroes as SLAF reconnaissance aircraft was circling over Ki'linochchi and Puthukkudiyiruppu towns.
An year ago, on October 17 2006, the SLAF bombed the main broadcast tower and transmitter of the Thamileelam Radio that broadcasts the Voice of Tigers (VoT), the official radio of the Liberation Tigers and Thamileelam Vanoli, a commercial Tamil service and a Sinhala language broadcast from Vanni.
VoT building damaged in attack
A part of the VoT building damaged in the attack
A child traveling on the road, wounded in the attack.
Another child admitted at Ki'linochchi hospital
23.10.06
IFJ condemns bombing of VoT radio station 17.10.06
SLAF bombs broadcast tower in Vanni
 was fully destroyed.)
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