Bandaranaike Airport attack

Bandaranaike Airport attack
	Part of the Sri Lankan Civil War
Date	July 24, 2001
Location	Bandaranaike International Airport, Sri Lanka
Result	Successful LTTE commando raid
Belligerents
Sri Lanka	Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
Commanders and leaders
Chandrika Kumaratunga; Air Chief Marshal Jayalath Weerakkody; Air Commodore R.A. Ananda; Wing Commander Bhuvanaka Abeysuriya	Velupillai Prabhakaran; Pottu Amman; Colonel Charles
Units involved
Sri Lanka Armed Forces Sri Lanka Air Force; ;	Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam Black Tigers; ;
Strength
1 airforce garrison	14 suicide commandos
Casualties and losses
7 soldiers killed; 12 soldiers wounded; Aircraft destroyed:; 1 Mi-17 attack helicopter,; 1 Mi-24 attack helicopter,; 3 K-8 jet trainers,; 2 Kfir fighter jets,; 1 MiG-27 fighter jet,; 2 Airbus A330s, ; 1 Airbus A320, ; 1 Airbus A340; Aircraft damaged:; 5 K-8 jet trainers,; 5 Kfir fighter jets,; 1 MiG-27 fighter jet,; 1 Airbus A340, ; 1 Airbus A320; 1 other military aircraft	14 Black Tigers killed

The Bandaranaike International Airport attack was a commando raid on 24 July 2001 by Black Tigers of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) targeting the Sri Lanka Air Force base SLAF Katunayake and the adjoining Bandaranaike International Airport in Katunayake, Sri Lanka. The attack was one of the boldest the LTTE mounted during its war with the Sri Lankan government, and had a profound impact on the country's military, economy, and airline industry.