Sinhala cultural capital, Anuradhapura. The government suffered an estimate of $40 million USD worth of damages to military aircraft. On 6 April 2008, Minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle was assassinated by a Black Tiger who exploded himself at the start of a marathon race which was part of the Sinhala and Tamil New Year celebration in Weliveriya town. Fernandopulle had been infamous for his ardent nationalistic stance favouring the Sinhala Buddhist majority and had strongly justified the forced eviction of Tamils from Colombo lodges in June 2007. Addressing the media the minister said there was no need for the Prime Minister to express regret over the move and insisted that all 300 Tamils were sent to Vavuniya after getting their 'verbal consent' in Colombo and subsequently written consent in Vavuniya. On 9 September 2008, an elite unit of 10 Black Tigers raided the joint headquarters of the Sri Lankan Armed Forces in Vanni, situated in Vavuniyaa town. According to the casualty figures released by the Sri Lankan military sources, 9 Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers, 2 Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) personnel and 1 policemen were killed and 26 wounded. The Black Tigers also destroyed the communication facility with its tower, engineering facility, and the anti-aircraft weapon and ammunition stores. On 6 October 2008, retired Major General Janaka Perera was killed by a Black Tiger who exploded his suicide-vest after embracing the minister during a political rally in Anuradhapura. He served as the Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Army and is considered one of the most distinguished generals in Sri Lankan history. Modus operandi Up to the defeat of the 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, 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. References Further reading Balasingham, Anton. (2004) War and Peace – Armed Struggle and Peace Efforts of Liberation Tigers, Fairmax Publishing Ltd, Narayan Swamy, M. R. (2002) Tigers of Lanka: from Boys to Guerrillas, Konark Publishers; 3rd