Breaking News - Plane Crashes into Government Building in Sri Lanka

World Breaking News - A light aircraft has been shot down by Sri Lanka's defense forces and another has smashed into a government building.

The aircraft then exploded as it was packed with explosives injuring at least 39 people. It is not known as yet if there have been any casualties in the incident.

The second light aircraft was shot down soon after by Sri Lankan military gunners after it became apparent that the plane was also involved.

The "suicide mission' apparently performed by Tamil Tiger rebels in the Sri Lanka's capital city of Colombo, bringing a new and devastating form of attack by the faction.

It seems as if the Tamil Tigers have adopted the terror tactic from Al Qaeda bringing with it echoes of the attacks of 9/11 when the world trade center was hit by two passenger planes.

The story reported on UK news network Sky News said that it was the main tax office in Sri Lanka that had been the target of the planes.

The attack prompted the closure of the country's only international airport with all traffic being diverted to India. The city's electricity supply was cut off effectively leaving the city and half a million residents in total darkness, as searchlights scoured the skies for more possible attacks.

Sri Lanka's military was firing volleys of anti-aircraft rounds into the sky from several locations around Colombo; residents witnessing the events heard several loud explosions.

The attack is being blamed on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, after the military tracked down the planes, which operate out of a small strip of land in the north east of Sri Lanka. An area which is ran by the Tamil Tigers.

The Sri Lankan military had famously said that they had effectively cut off the conventional fighting capability of the Tamil Tigers recently.

The Tamil Tigers have been fighting for an independent homeland on the Sinhalese islands to the north of Sri Lanka since 1972 effectively creating a civil war in the region.

Attacks have often come to the mainland of Sri Lanka, with the last known air attack having been in September 2008 when a military base was attacked by the separatist group.

A friend of mine recently told me of the horrors of some of the fighting in the country where he has family. He moved from the region to live in the UK when family members became afraid for their lives in 2005 after an escalation of attacks by the Tamil Tigers on the mainland.

Sri Lanka has seen thousands of people die since the start of the civil war in 1972.

Flight travel to Sri Lanka has been affected you should check with your operator before leaving for further details.

Sources: Sky News UK, SRI LANKA UNITED NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CANADA.