Black Tigers

E461935

The Black Tigers were the elite suicide commando unit of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), notorious for high-profile attacks during the Sri Lankan civil war.

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Statements (49)

Predicate Object
instanceOf paramilitary organization
special forces unit
suicide commando unit
commandStructure directly controlled by LTTE leadership
conflict Sri Lankan Civil War NERFINISHED
countryOfOperation Sri Lanka NERFINISHED
designationByEuropeanUnion terrorist organization component
designationByIndia terrorist organization component
designationBySriLanka terrorist organization component
designationByUnitedStates terrorist organization component
disbandedFollowing military defeat of LTTE in 2009
firstKnownAttackContext attack on Sri Lankan military targets
firstKnownAttackDate 1987
founder Velupillai Prabhakaran NERFINISHED
genderComposition male and female fighters
goal creation of an independent Tamil Eelam state
ideology Tamil nationalism
separatism
leader Velupillai Prabhakaran NERFINISHED
notableAttack assassination of Sri Lankan President Ranasinghe Premadasa
assassination of former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi
attacks on Katunayake Bandaranaike International Airport
attacks on Sri Lankan naval vessels
suicide truck bombing of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka in Colombo
notableFor high-profile assassinations
high-profile bombings
suicide attacks
operationalPeriodEnd 2009
operationalPeriodStart late 1980s
operationalTheater Eastern Province of Sri Lanka NERFINISHED
Northern Province of Sri Lanka NERFINISHED
parentOrganizationIdeology Tamil Eelam independence
partOf Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam NERFINISHED
primaryTargets Sri Lankan military installations
Sri Lankan political leaders
economic and civilian targets in Sri Lanka
recruitment LTTE cadres selected for suicide missions
selectionCriteria combat experience
loyalty to LTTE
willingness to undertake suicide missions
status defunct
symbolism cult of martyrdom within LTTE
tactics close-quarters assassination
infiltration operations
maritime suicide attacks
suicide bombing
vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices
training specialized suicide mission training
uniformFeature cyanide capsule worn around the neck

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.