COLOMBO, July 20: In the third such incident of its kind, Tamil rebels have hijacked a Greek ship carrying 32,400 mortar bombs for the island's armed forces, army sources said.

The Greek ship, `Stillus Limmusul', which left Madagascar on July 2 has not turned up so far, they said, adding, ``In this background, the most reasonable conclusion is that the LTTE has most likely sabotaged the shipment''.

Earlier Sunday Times newspaper had reported that several western embassies received a fax from the LTTE saying the ship was hijacked on July 11.

``The cargo has been confiscated and the crew released unharmed,'' the fax message reproduced by the paper said.

The LTTE had also warn that it ``would take action against all those supplying military equipment used against the legitimate rights of the Tamil people and severely punish them.'' The warning on plain paper said, ``We, the Tamil tigers inform you that on July 11, 1997, we have hijacked a vessel carrying arms, sailing under a Liberian flag. On the deck of the vessel there were 12 containers containing 32,400 mortar bombs, destined for Colombo, Sri Lanka, Ministry of Defence''.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.