The first Black Tiger was Vallipuram Vasanthan, who drove a small truck laden with explosives into a Sri Lanka Army camp in Nelliady, Jaffna peninsula, on 5 July 1987, killing himself and between 39 and 100 Sri Lankan soldiers. Immediately afterwards, regular LTTE cadres followed up, overwhelming the stunned SLA soldiers. This attack was hugely effective, and proved vital in the dismantling of the Sri Lankan Army's Operation Liberation. During the earlier phase of the Tamil Tigers' military campaign, it did not possess the heavy conventional weapons required to attack large camps. To mount such an attack, costly weapons such as artillery pieces, missiles, and fighter-bombers would have been needed – weapons that the LTTE could not afford to purchase. As a result, they decided to resort to asymmetric warfare, creating a special wing to make up for their inadequate weaponry. Consequently, it is not the act itself—killing by suicide—that was the Black Tigers' original or even main aim, but rather the military impact and its strategic consequences. After 18 May 2009, following the death of LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran, the Black Tigers ceased to exist, along with other LTTE fighting formations.
Notable attacks
In May 1991, a female LTTE cadet blew herself up, killing former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, along with 16 civilians. On 1 May 1993, another Black Tiger assassinated Sri Lankan President Ranasinghe Premadasa and 23 others during a May Day parade. On July 2001, 14 Black Tigers attacked Bandaranaike International Airport, causing an estimated of US$350 million worth of damage to military and civilian aircraft. Tourism in Sri Lanka sharply dropped after the incident. Black Tigers were drawn from the ranks of the LTTE. Those who wanted to join wrote letters to Velupillai Prabhakaran, the founder and leader of the LTTE. According to the LTTE, Prabhakaran evaluated the applications, examining the applicant's particular skills, the kinds of missions he or she had been involved in, their motivations and their family situations. All these factors were considered in deciding whether he or she could become a Black Tiger. Those who were the only living child in family were automatically disqualified from joining.
Modus operandi
Up to the defeat of LTTE, the Black Tigers carried out 100 to 200 missions. The Black Tigers operated in three distinct ways: conventional combat on land and at sea, guerrilla attacks, and assassinations or bombings. The majority of these attacks involved military objectives in the north and east of the country. Relatively speaking, there were fewer operations in the south, where most of the Sinhalese live, especially in the capital city, Colombo, although such attacks often engaged high-profile targets and attracted much international publicity as a result. The last such attack was on government politicians during a Muslim festival.
