Black Tigers
The Black Tigers (Tamil: கரும்புலிகள்) was an elite suicide commando unit of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a militant Tamil separatist organization in Sri Lanka.
| Black Tigers | |
|---|---|
| கரும்புலிகள் | |
| Active | 5 July 1987 – 18 May 2009 |
| Country | Sri Lanka |
| Branch | Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam |
| Type | Commandos |
| Role | Suicide Bombing Raiding Reconnaissance Special operations Urban warfare |
| Size | 300–400 |
| Part of | Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam |
| Colors | Black and Grey |
| Anniversaries | 5 July (Regimental day) |
| Engagements | Sri Lankan Civil War |
| Commanders | |
| Colonel of the Regiment | Pottu Amman |
| Notable commanders | Pottu Amman Kapil Amman Ratnam Master † Colonel Charles † |
They were specially selected and trained LTTE cadres whose missions included mounting suicide attacks primarily against military targets. Economic and political targets were also targeted at times, among them Sri Lankan President Ranasinghe Premadasa and former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. Civilians were also killed during certain attacks such as the bombing of the Central Bank and the Temple of the Tooth attack.
Since their formation in 1987 until the defeat of the Tamil Tigers in 2009, more than 330 Black Tigers made suicide attacks on air, land, and sea, mostly in Sri Lanka. Experts estimated that the Black Tigers had carried out the most of suicide attacks reported around the world by the time the Sri Lankan civil war ended in 2009.