In its Country Reports on Terrorism submitted to the US Congress the US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said that the Sri Lankan terrorist group, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) led other terrorist groups in the world by giving them many innovative ideas.
"Many LTTE innovations," said the report, "such as explosive belts, vests, and bras, using female suicide bombers, and waterborne suicide attacks against ships, have been copied by other terrorist groups."
U.S. law requires the Secretary of State to provide Congress, by April 30 of each year, a full and complete report on terrorism with regard to those countries and groups meeting criteria set forth in the legislation. This annual report is entitled Country Reports on Terrorism. Beginning with the report for 2004, it replaced the previously published Patterns of Global Terrorism.
In its South and Central Asian section the report said, while the Maosists in Nepal signed a peace agreement in contrast the LTTE continued with its terrorist attacks.
"In Nepal and Sri Lanka, terrorism carried out by the Maoists and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) posed a severe challenge to those governments," the report said.
The report said, "On an encouraging note, in November, the Maoists signed a peace agreement with the Government of Nepal that provided, under certain disarmament conditions, that the Maoists could be admitted into an interim government.
In Sri Lanka, the LTTE continued attacks including targeted assassinations against political and military opponents."
The Secretary of State told the Congress that, the LTTE financed itself with contributions from the Tamil Diaspora in North America, Europe, and Australia, and by imposing local "taxes" on businesses operating in the areas of Sri Lanka under its control. Using this money, LTTE weapons were purchased on the international black market or captured from the Sri Lankan Army.
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